When Death Comes Knocking
by Tsuki-no-Kurokage
Summary: My 1st GA fic. Natsume is getting weaker and weaker due to his Alice. When the AAO comes into the picture, many unexpected things happen, and Natsume is reaching his life's limit. Will everyone at the Academy be able to save him? NxM HxR COMPLETE COMPLETE
1. Mikan's Concern

When Death Comes Knocking

Author's Note: This is my first Gakuen Alice fic so I hope you can be a little easy on me. I'm actually very nervous about this even though I have posted other fics already but I guess it's because this is my first try at Gakuen Alice. Don't be fooled by the pen name. Yes, I love Umbreons and all but don't you think I should have other favourites? Umbreons rock and so does Gakuen Alice. They are all still 10 here, by the way.

Summary: Death comes knocking at Natsume's door. Will Mikan and everyone at the Academy be able to save him from himself? What can they do against the AAO that is still after Natsume? How about Persona? This follows the anime. I don't really know what happens in the manga but from what I've heard, it seems that the manga has more Natsume and Mikan relationship stuff. KAWAII!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 1 – Mikan's Concern

Peering outside the classroom window, legs on the table, hands in his pockets and not seeming to be paying any attention to the sensei…These are the things Natsume Hyuuga excelled in. Ditching class and trying to make futile escapes from the Academy were what he did before, that is, till **_she _**came along… with that annoying smile of hers that she wore everyday of her life.

Natsume took out his manga and flipped to the page where he had stopped, not wanting to listen to the sensei's boring lectures. Ruka patted his favourite Usagithat he always carries with him and also didn't listen to the sensei. Not long afterwards, the bell rang, signifying that it was break time. Mikan skipped over to Natsume and Ruka who were still busy with their daily routines.

"Ohayo, Ruka-pyon! Ohayo, Natsume-kun!" Mikan greeted like as if she didn't that morning, still smiling that trademark smile of hers. "Do you want to come with me to Central Town today? There's still some wonderful Howalon that I want to eat!"

"Still with that Howalon thing, baka? You never seem to get over them, Polka-dots." Natsume grunted, not taking his crimson eyes off his manga.

"Mou, Howalon tastes heavenly! And for the last time, my name is Mikan, you hentai!"

"Che. Whatever, _Ichigo Kara_." Natsume got up from his seat and walked out of the classroom, the manga still in his hands.

"NATSUME, HENTAI!!!!"

Natsume practically ignored all of the insults thrown at him and sat down under his favourite Sakura tree that was blossoming with beautiful Sakura flowers. He leaned against the tree trunk and opened up his manga, hoping that the baka youju wouldn't come to bother him anymore. Well, that wouldn't happen even after a lifetime.

"Natsume!" Mikan yelled out, running towards the fire caster. "You haven't answered me yet! Will you go with me to Central Town today?"

"What do you think?" Natsume grunted.

"I think you'd say no again, won't you?" Mikan looked at the ground, shifting her feet sadly. "You always do that, Natsume…"

'_Oh great, I made her sad again._' Natsume thought guiltily.

"Then…" Natsume heard her mutter. "Can I sit here with you, Natsume? Everyone else is busy with their own stuff. I'm kind of lonely so…" Mikan then proceeded to sit next to Natsume. "Can I?"

No one spoke for a while. There was an unusual silence between the two, till Natsume broke the silence.

"Do whatever you like."

"Arigatou, Natsume-kun."

Mikan stared at Natsume as he continued to read his manga. She was feeling very bored and Natsume didn't say anything to start up a conversation with her. Natsume noticed the deathly silence between them but this time, he didn't do anything to break it. Suddenly, Natsume heard a twig crack. Of course, Mikan couldn't hear a thing. She wasn't trained to sharpen her senses since the Academy never allowed her to go on missions, unlike Natsume, but Natsume was highly-trained enough to be able to catch it.

"Persona…" Natsume muttered under his breath. Mikan, unfortunately, caught that.

"Natsume, who are you talking about?"

"Nothing that you should care about, Polka-dots. Now get lost before I burn your hair."

"Natsume, what is going-?" Mikan never got to finish her sentence but Natsume knew what she wanted to ask.

"Just go now, little girl, before I really burn your hair."

"Fine! You want to act all high and mighty, then go ahead! I won't be bothering you anymore today!" Mikan yelled angrily before turning around and storming off. Natsume looked down and his bangs covered his crimson eyes. He heard someone jump from the Sakura tree from above and turned to face him.

"Well, well, Natsume, I didn't know you were in such an urge to protect that adorable girl with a different aura."

"Cut the crap, Persona. What do you want?"

"You have another mission waiting for you. Now come along," Persona motioned to Natsume who followed reluctantly. Natsume turned to look at Mikan one more time and went off on his mission.

**After classes…**

Mikan went over to Ruka and noticed that Natsume wasn't there with Ruka, which was quite odd since Natsume is always with Ruka.

"Ne, Ruka-pyon, have you seen Natsume?"

"No, I haven't. In fact, I haven't seen him since break time."

"Oh no, during the break, Natsume told me to go away. Do you think…?" The conversation attracted Hotaru and Yuu/Iinchou who went over as well to find out what was happening.

"Yes, it's very likely that Natsume has been sent on another mission again," Yuu stated.

"Oh no! Then Natsume is in danger then!" Mikan exclaimed with worry. Hotaru sighed and took out her Baka Gun.

**Baka! Baka! Baka!**

"Waaahhh… Hotaru, you meanie!" Mikan wailed.

"Before you go getting yourself worried, you baka, remember that Natsume has gone on missions like this before. Why should you worry when he's not even back yet? If he comes back with injuries, **_then _**we should get worried. Do you understand, you baka?" Hotaru asked emotionlessly while the others stared at her. She has never said that much about Natsume's missions before and it got everyone into a state of surprise.

Hotaru noticed everyone's stares at her and got ready her Baka Cannon and stated, "Stop staring or else you'll all face the wrath of my Baka Cannon." Everyone sweat dropped anime style and backed away from Hotaru.

"Imai-san has a good point, Sakura-san," Yuu pointed out. Mikan turned to face Yuu. "No need to get so worried just yet. We should wait till he's back from his mission."

"You're right…" Mikan whispered.

"Tell you what," Hotaru said, putting one of her hands on Mikan's right shoulder to comfort her. "Since you care this much about Hyuuga, we'll all stay up tonight till he comes back. Tomorrow's a weekend, anyway. If he's wound-free, get to sleep. If he's injured, we'll bring him to the hospital, all right, you baka?"

"…" Tears formed in Mikan's eyes and she proceeded to hug Hotaru. "OH HOTARUUUUUU!!" Hotaru just dodged her and Mikan's face impacted with the hard cold floor.

"Get away from me, lest you spread your baka germs through your snot."

**That night…**

Mikan, Hotaru, Ruka and Yuu stayed up that night in order to wait for Natsume's arrival. In their perspective rooms, they took their alarm clocks and read the time. It was nearing midnight and Natsume still wasn't back from his mission yet.

'_It must be a tough one…_' Mikan thought to herself. '_I hope that he'll be OK…_' She sat by her window and looked at the full moon while waiting. Much to her disappointment, Koko was still awake that night and he was walking past Mikan's room when he read her mind. He knocked on her door and Mikan ran over to open it.

"Don't worry, Mikan. I'm sure Natsume will be alright. He **_is _**your boyfriend, after all." A vein popped from Mikan's head, anime style.

"Koko, you've been reading my mind again… I really don't understand how with my Nullification Alice… But you shouldn't invade others' privacy! And Natsume is NOT my boyfriend!"

"OK, OK, keep it down. You don't want to wake everyone else up, do you? Besides, I'm certain that he'll be alright. I'll get Nonoko and Anna! That'll make you rest easily and Natsume will be happy to hear that his girlfriend's at ease."

"For the last time, he is not my boyfriend!" Mikan stated while blushing heavily but Koko had already gone off. Mikan closed the door and sat on her bed, waiting patiently for Natsume's arrival. '_Please be all right, Natsume-kun…_'

**With Natsume…**

The Kuro Neko jumped from a tree branch to another tree branch and then to another tree branch. He spotted Persona near a dead tree and jumped down from the branch where he was standing on, landing on the ground gracefully. He blocked the moonlight beaming down from the sky, forming a long and narrow silhouette. Natsume removed his Kuro Neko mask and it revealed a small cut on his right cheek. Persona, his hands behind his back, turned to face the Kuro Neko that was back from his mission.

"Mission complete. Go back to your dorm and await for further instructions, is that clear, Natsume?"

"Hn."

"From your reply, I think it went very well, didn't it? I hope you haven't gotten tired from using your Alice after this mission."

"Just shut up." Natsume was about to turn around and jump back to his dorm when an excruciating pain forbade him to. Natsume held onto his left arm, trying hard not to say out anything to show that he was wounded.

"What's wrong, my favourite Kuro Neko?"

"N…nothing that you should care about…" Natsume muttered out painfully and ran away quickly, not wanting to stay there anymore. Persona just smiled grimly.

**Moments later…**

Natsume reached his favourite Sakura tree not long after the short talk with his least favourite person. He sat under it and held onto his left arm which was bleeding. Persona was watching him from behind another tree and was still smirking. Natsume was too busy trying to hold back the pain that he didn't notice Persona there.

Mikan, on the other hand, was looking outside her window, still worried about Natsume. She looked to and fro and finally spotted him sitting under their favourite Sakura tree.

"Natsume!" Mikan rushed out of her room and called for Hotaru and the others. They all came out of their rooms and followed Mikan to Natsume's destination, but by the time they reached there, Natsume was gone.

"Baka, your eyes must've played tricks on you. You should go for an optical check-up," Hotaru stated emotionlessly.

"B-but Natsume was here just a moment ago! He seemed to be in pain!" Mikan protested.

"You two should stop arguing. We have to split up and look for Natsume," Yuu suggested. Everyone took up the suggestion and split up to look for Natsume in pairs. Anna and Nonoko went with each other, Yuu and Koko went with each other and Hotaru and Ruka went with each other, leaving Mikan alone.

"Imai… Are you sure you want to leave Sakura alone?" Ruka asked.

"Look at it this way: That baka gets to spend some lovey-dovey time with that Hyuuga while we get the great footage and get rich," Hotaru explained emotionlessly as she held up her video camera. "You want those two to get together, anyway." Ruka sweat dropped anime style.

"Imai, this isn't time for your blackmail routine. My best friend and your best friend might be in danger."

"We can just get everything on tape and if they face danger, one of us will just go and help them. Anyway, the action recorded is bound to get millions of Rabbits."

"I don't know about this, Imai…"

"If you don't do it with me, I'll sell all of your Snow White photos."

"OK! OK! I'll do it! Geez!" Hotaru just replied with an evil smile and Rabbits signs in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Mikan ran off alone in search for Natsume, crying his name out loud and hoping for an answer from him but she got nothing from him. How she longed to hear his voice and see his beautiful crimson eyes…

"Aah! Snap out of it, Mikan!" she scolded herself. "This isn't the time to think about that hentai's good looks!" When she said that, however, she couldn't help but smile at the thought as she felt herself blushing a lot. She soon shook her head and ran off, continuing her search for Natsume.

"Natsume! Natsume-kun! Natsu-!" Mikan didn't get to call out anymore as a swift hand covered her mouth. The owner of the hand appeared from behind Mikan and Mikan moved with much difficulty to look at the stranger. She couldn't see his face but she saw that the person had an unconscious boy in his other arm. Mikan mentally gasped when she saw the blood dripping from the boy's left arm. She immediately recognized the boy even in the dark.

It was Natsume.

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A/N: So how was that for the first chapter of my first Gakuen Alice fic? I know the plot doesn't seem all that original but I'm trying the best I can. I promise it'll get better as this goes along. Please be patient with me. I still have another major fic going on so updates will take a long time. Gomen…

_Ichigo Kara: Strawberry Pattern_


	2. Natsume, Daijoubu?

Author's Note: Wow, I didn't expect many reviews for the first chapter yet I got quite a few. I feel very grateful and happy! OK, I'm getting to exciting part soon but I won't update as quickly because the school holidays are over and I'm only allowed the computer on weekends and Fridays. Plus, I have another major fic going on, so…

Domo arigatou gozaimasu to all my first few reviewers!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice. Though… maybe an introduced invention might be owned by me…

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_In the last chapter…_

"_Natsume! Natsume-kun! Natsu-!" Mikan didn't get to call out anymore as a swift hand covered her mouth. The owner of the hand appeared from behind Mikan and Mikan moved with much difficulty to look at the stranger. She couldn't see his face but she saw that the person had an unconscious boy in his other arm. Mikan mentally gasped when she saw the blood dripping from the boy's left arm. She immediately recognized the boy even in the dark._

_It was Natsume._

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Chapter 2 – Natsume, Daijoubu?

_Dear Ojii-chan, I saw Natsume return from his mission. He looked hurt so I wanted to go help him but for some reason, he wasn't at the same place where I saw him. I decided to go and find where he is but now, a stranger holding onto Natsume has gotten me too! _

Mikan couldn't speak out for the stranger was holding onto her mouth very tightly, as if he didn't want Mikan to shout for help. Mikan tried biting the stranger's hand like what she usually does when someone gets a hold of her, but she couldn't. The most Mikan could do was cry out a muffled scream but that would not be enough to arouse any attention.

"Ahh, so **_you _**must be the adorable little Neko that my favourite Kuro Neko has taken a liking to," the stranger whispered in Mikan's ear. "My Kuro Neko has changed ever since he came into contact with you and I thought that by taking him away, I would be able to lure you and your friends out so that I can see for myself the reason why Natsume has changed so much."

Mikan didn't reply. How could she when her mouth was being covered by the stranger?

"Poor little Natsume has to be asleep now. It looks like I can deal with you while he's asleep, eh?"

Mikan's pupils dilated and cried out a muffled scream but of course, no one came to save her. '_Where's Hotaru when I need her?_'

**Speaking of which…**

"Come on, Imai, we've been trying so hard to look for them!" Ruka exclaimed to Hotaru.

"We wouldn't have lost trail of that baka if it wasn't for you," Hotaru protested emotionlessly. It wasn't much of a protest anyway, since her voice is always lacking much emotion.

"But… But my Usagi is soaking wet and I had to attend to it, all because of your invented elephant!"

"That would've never happened if you hadn't paid so much attention to it all the time. You were distracting me from getting rich."

As the argument carried on, a beeping sound diverted all of their attention to the source. Hotaru took something from her bag which she carried along. The item soon projected a holographic map and Hotaru looked at it with a grin. An **_evil _**grin.

"Uh… Imai? What are you smiling about?" Hotaru didn't reply and she looked towards the air, put on her professor hat and took out her pointing stick. Or, whatever that is…

"_Invention no. 037: The Baka GPS. The Baka GPS can help in locating bakas such as Mikan by using a GPS system. When it has successfully detected the baka, it will give out a beeping sound and a holographic map will be projected to show where the baka's location is. The yellow spot on the map is the user, the blue spots are other people and the spot, where a big, fat, red BAKA sign is, is the baka's location."_

Hotaru took in slow, deep breaths while Ruka stared at her, wondering who she was talking to aside from the air. He looked at their surroundings and couldn't find anyone except for themselves. Thinking that Hotaru was talking to the air, he told her directly, "Imai, you are crazy."

"Well, shall we?" Hotaru asked, ignoring Ruka's comment. She held up her Baka GPS which was projecting the holographic map like what Hotaru explained. "With this, we'll locate that baka and your best friend. Then, it's blackmail time."

Ruka sweat dropped anime style while Hotaru's eyes became Rabbits signs again.

**Back with Mikan and Persona… (obviously, the stranger is Persona)**

Persona had tied Mikan and Natsume up to a tree and he gagged Mikan as well, just in case she screamed and wailed till someone came to save her. Persona left the twosome tied up there and jumped up to a tree branch, waiting for what would happen next. Mikan, on the other hand, was trying as hard as she could to get out of that mess without arousing Persona's attention. It would be helpful if Natsume was awake but she figured that even if Natsume were to awake, he would be too weak to start his fire.

Although no one had noticed it, Natsume slowly awoke, his vision blurred. He looked as weak and tired as he was when he was kidnapped by Reo before. Natsume turned to face Mikan and whispered, "Oi, Ichigo Kara…"

"Eh?" Natsume noticed that Mikan was gagged.

"Seems like you can't talk much now, huh?" Mikan slowly nodded. Natsume smirked. "Hn. That would save me from all your talkativeness." Mikan became furious at his comment but she couldn't do anything about it except let a vein pop from her head anime style.

"I'll have to keep on whispering so that Persona won't notice I'm awake. If he does, he'll do the unthinkable. But anyway, we have to get out of this as soon as we can. You want me to burn the ropes for you, baka?"

Mikan nodded. Natsume gathered up his remaining strength to start his fire and succeeded in doing so. He felt his fire appear from his palms and let the fire spread out to burn the rope. It took quite some time before the fire succeeded in burning out all the ropes. Mikan, free from her 'prison', removed her gag. Natsume, on the other hand, fell to the ground with a thud.

"Natsume!" Mikan rushed over to his side to help him but Persona jumped from the tree branch and stopped her.

"Just what do you think you're doing, little Neko?"

"What did you do to Natsume?!"

"I did nothing. He can only blame himself for his injuries. I only took him in custody to lure you out and nothing else. Now, if you don't mind…" Persona went to Natsume and carried him. "I'll be taking my leave now with Natsume, of course."

"Let him go!" a voice rang out. Persona distinctly remembered who the voice had belonged to but he couldn't remember exactly who it was. Mikan recognized it straight away.

"Ruka-pyon!"

Ruka then appeared, leading the farm animals using his animal pheromone with Hotaru recording the entire thing on tape, sitting comfortably on top of her elephant invention. The farm animals attempted to knock Persona down and run over him without hurting Natsume who was semi-conscious. Ruka hopped off one of the animals and over to Natsume's aid. He carried Natsume on his shoulder and got Natsume out of the crowd.

"Ruka-pyon, Hotaru! I'm so glad you're here! Quick, let's get Natsume to the hospital before that masked guy gets us!" Mikan shouted as she jumped onto Hotaru's elephant. Hotaru was still recording the entire thing. Mikan sweat dropped anime style. "Hotaru… You're still in the mood to blackmail us?"

"Well, let's just say that I'm going to be rich after this leaks out."

Ruka rode on one of the farm animals, leaving Natsume to Mikan's care. Ruka led the way, informing Koko, Anna, Nonoko and Yuu along the way when he encountered them. Mikan placed Natsume's head on her laps and couldn't help but stroke his hair. Natsume was unconscious by then so he had no idea what was going on. As Mikan found joy in watching the 'Great Natsume Hyuuga' sleep on her laps, she blushed and her heart began pounding.

"Um… H-Hotaru?"

"Hai? What is it, baka Mikan?"

"Well… I've been having this feeling for a long time now… I mean… Every time I see Natsume like this or some other time, I feel weird but happy… And now, my heart can't stop pounding, a-a-and I just can't resist stroking his hair! D-do you… Have you ever felt this way, Hotaru?" Mikan asked, feeling rather shy and embarrassed.

"Baka…" Hotaru muttered under her breath before she spoke aloud to Mikan, "You'll find out what that feeling is in no time…"

"_Demo… _You haven't really answered me, Hotaru… Have you ever felt like this before?"

"Well…" Hotaru turned and stole a gaze at Ruka and felt herself blush a little. She smiled happily and said, "I think I do."

**The hospital…**

Yuu and Hotaru, being the class representatives, contacted the teachers at the Faculty Room, informing Narumi first. The teachers hurried to the hospital and discovered the students of class B wide awake and waiting in the waiting room. It seemed that everyone in class B was called up because of the incident back when Natsume fainted and brought to the classroom. Mikan, Hotaru, Ruka, Yuu, Anna, Nonoko and Koko all agreed that the entire class should be involved once more since they were one class all together, one united class.

"Um…" Everyone's gazes fell upon a doctor. "Are **_all _**of you related to that boy that was brought in earlier?"

"Yes!" Everyone stated simultaneously. Mikan and Ruka stepped up and Mikan began to ask the doctor many questions.

"Doctor, is he going to be alright? Is he injured? When will he wake up? Is he going to be alright? What's going to happen to him? Is he going to be alright?"

Ruka tugged onto Mikan's sleeve and whispered, "Sakura-san, you already asked that question three times."

Mikan blinked dumbly and turned to face him. She asked, "I did?" Everyone just fell anime style, except for Hotaru. She took out her Baka Gun.

**Baka! Baka! Baka!**

"Ow… Hotaru!"

Hotaru just ignored all of Mikan's wailings and asked the doctor emotionlessly, "You were saying?"

The doctor cleared his throat and began, "Well, the patient **_appears _**fine. However, I cannot ignore the serious injuries that he has gotten on his left arm. It seems that he was cut by the same knife continuously and if I ignore it as much as he ignores it, well… it'll get inflamed." Before Mikan could cry, Hotaru shot her once with her Baka Gun and asked for the doctor to continue. "And… to tell you the truth… I think the patient has overused his Alice and…"

"Overused? _Demo_, isn't his Alice the fourth ability form? Then, if he has overused it, then that would mean…!" Sumire, a.k.a. Permy, gasped.

"No! Natsume can't die! Is there no other way?" Mikan pleaded.

"Daijoubu, daijoubu… When I mentioned 'overused', I meant that he had used it too often today. Although his life is getting shorter… there's not much to worry about right now. What you do have to worry about however, is to find a way to prevent him from his Alice unless he really needs to, from now onwards."

"_Demo_… Natsume has to go on his missions…" Ruka started.

"That… is your Academy's problem… My concern is helping him recover. Also, before I forget, you have to advise him against taking those dastardly pills from now on…" the doctor walked away, shaking his head disappointedly. Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what pills the doctor mentioned, except for the teachers, that is.

"Narumi sensei… Natsume takes pills for his condition? That means he's been suffering all this time and he takes the pills so that we wouldn't notice?" Mikan asked.

"Mikan-chan… I never wanted Natsume to take those pills… It was all Persona's work…"

"Persona?"

"I… Never mind… You'll know one day… You'll **_all _**know one day… Let's go visit Natsume-kun." Everyone else nodded their heads grimly and discussed among themselves who should be the one to go in and visit Natsume first. Sumire, being Sumire, volunteered, but everyone else was against it. Soon, they all decided…

"_NANI_??! _WATASHI_?!" Mikan exclaimed.

"Hai, Mikan-chan. Who else besides you and Ruka can go in there first?" Yuu stated. Mikan looked at Ruka and Ruka nodded, implying that he agreed. Mikan sighed and agreed. Mikan and Ruka opened the door to Natsume's ward and walked in quietly, closing the door behind them while they were at it. They pulled a chair to them and sat down, keeping an eye on the sleeping Natsume.

"Gosh, he looks so cute when he's asleep… Oh!" Mikan covered her mouth, realsing that Ruka was present. "Gomen, Ruka-pyon… I shouldn't have said that aloud…"

"Daijoubu, Sakura… You must really like Natsume, hm? You're turning red…"

"E-eh?" Mikan hid her blush. "No I'm not…"

"Well… We've done what we came to do. We better go out and let the rest see him first…"

"_Ch-chotto matte_, Ruka-pyon… I… want to be here for a bit longer…"

"OK, I'll go out first." Ruka was a little jealous but he left anyway. He came face-to-face with Hotaru who was holding up a video camera. "Not again, Imai…"

"You'd better be on my side… Or else photos of you playing with the giant _piyo _will be on sale by morning."

**The next morning…**

"… Oi…"

"Zzz…."

"Oi, Polka-dots…"

"Zzz…"

"Oi, wake up already, _Ringo Kara._"

"N-N-N…" Mikan stood up straight, totally awake now. "N-Natsume… HENTAI!" Then there was a knock on the door and it was Hotaru who knocked on the door. She opened it even though no answer came from Natsume and Mikan and Ruka was following her timidly. Hotaru didn't say anything and she held up her video camera and showed Natsume and Mikan what she has recorded.

"_Na…N-NANI?????!!!!!_" both Natsume and Mikan yelled out, but it was more of Mikan who screamed and Natsume who just gasped out. The video was showing a very sleepy Mikan lying down on Natsume. Mikan fell asleep and so was Natsume. After some rather weird and awkward scenes, Mikan's mouth was gaping wide open till her jaw dropped to the floor. Natsume was plain shocked.

"So, that would explain why the first thing I saw was **_your drool_**… You baka youju, next time when you sleep, sleep in your own room. I don't want any baka germs on me next time you 'sleepover'. And this time, I am going to ask of you to sleep more decently, not putting her legs up on me and your head on the chair!" Natsume complained. You can pretty much guess how Mikan slept.

"Natsume…!!!"

'_I've struck a Rabbits mine_,' Hotaru thought happily as she continued recording Mikan and Natsume in a fight cloud.

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A/N: So, how is it this time? By the way, if I have spelt any Japanese words wrongly, do let me know. Also, should I change the genre? Anyway, I love this chapter a lot! It's got some humour… right? So, anyway, there are some parts here where some of the anime episodes were mentioned. Can you spot them all? (wink wink)

Next chapter: Natsume and Mikan's feelings for each other deepen but they hide their feelings very well. Natsume's condition isn't getting any better but it isn't getting any worse, so it seems fine… but when Persona appears...

_Demo: But_

_Nani?: What?_

_Watashi: Me/I_

_Chotto matte: Wait (for a while)_

_Ringo Kara: Apple Pattern_


	3. LoveyDovey Moment

Author's Note: Nothing much to say now, except for the fact that I've found all, and I mean, ALL manga scans of Gakuen Alice!!!! But it's in Chinese, so if anyone wants to read them despite the fact that they are all in Chinese, please move the cursor to the link to my profile and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page but right above the Stories Authored section. _Domo arigatou gozaimasu _and I hope you enjoy the manga scans!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 3 – Lovey-Dovey Moment

Natsume was lying down on his bed, holding up his manga that Ruka got for him. He flipped through the pages and tried to get his mind to focus on reading the manga. However, not even his favourite manga could help get his mind off Mikan.

'_That baka… What did she think she was doing? Showing off her underwear like that…_' Natsume felt something creep up on his face and shook it away. '_What the heck am I doing? How can I be thinking of that baka? I got to keep myself focused and refrain from thinking about that idiotic Polka-dots._' Just as Natsume was about to forget about Mikan's printed underwear, the door opened and guess who came in…?

"_Konnichiwa, _Natsume-kun!"

Yup, it was Mikan.

"Natsume-kun, _Daijoubu_? Classes ended a bit earlier today so I decided to come and visit! How's your arm?" Mikan asked sweetly, like as if she had forgotten that Natsume had seen her apple printed underwear. Natsume stared at her and didn't reply. He looked at the manga and muttered something, but Mikan didn't catch it. "_Nani? _What did you say, Natsume?"

"I said, I'm fine… _Ringo Kara_," Natsume added with a freakishly tiny smirk.

"Natsume, you pervert!" Mikan exclaimed before calming down and changing the subject, "Anyway, Ruka-pyon and Hotaru will be coming later. I just wanted to let you know."

"Why do you want me to know about that? They can just come in and visit anytime they want to."

"_Eeto…_" Mikan pulled a chair and sat down before continuing, "It was about last night's video about you and me in here…" Mikan blushed and Natsume covered his own small blush well with his bangs and manga. "Well… Hotaru is selling copies of the video for 1000 Rabbits each along with a free set of 'Ruka-pyon in a dress' photos. She said that they are selling well and she has already earned 9000 Rabbits. _Demo, _she also added that she will be escaping from Ruka-pyon's wrath after school today so they'll be coming later."

Natsume sweat dropped anime style. '_How can this baka and that Imai be best friends? They are so different from each other… Then again, Ruka and I have been best friends too and we are totally different as well…_'

"Ne, Natsume, what are you thinking about? You seem deep in thought."

"I wasn't thinking about anything, baka," Natsume lied. Mikan, being the baka she is, fell for it. However, she still had some scores to settle with Natsume.

"Mou, can't you even call me by my name?" Mikan asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Call me Mikan, not baka or anything! Come on; say it with me, Mi… ka… n… M-I-K-A-N, get it?"

"…"

"Hey, Natsume, are you even paying attention to me?!"

"…"

"Say something, Natsume!"

"…"

"Come on; don't scare me with your deathly silence! Say something! Or… or do something! I don't care what; just let me make sure you're all right!"

"…"

"NATSUM-!" Mikan was immediately cut off by Natsume, but Natsume wasn't saying anything that interrupted Mikan's shouting. What stopped Mikan's mouth was Natsume's own mouth. He had pulled her collar, dragged her closer to him and leaned in to put his lips on hers.

He was **_kissing _**her.

Mikan's eyes were wide open with shock but she didn't pull back or do anything to stop their kiss. Natsume, on the other hand, closed his eyes as his hold on Mikan's collar loosened and slowly but truly, Mikan closed her eyes, as if accepting Natsume's sudden kiss. Natsume let go of Mikan's collar gently and Mikan gripped onto Natsume's hand as time slowly passed by.

After approximately 20 seconds, Natsume pushed Mikan away from him, breaking their approximately 20-second long kiss. He let his bangs cover his eyes, hiding the evident blush creeping up on his face. He decided to lie back down on his hospital bed and pulled the blanket covers over him. How embarrassing, he felt. Mikan placed her right hand over her chest where her heart was and she could feel her heart beating very quickly. It was so fast that Mikan was breathing heavily in order to supply herself with enough oxygen. Her face was as red as an apple already.

"N…Na…Natsume… Did you just…?" Mikan muttered out, hoping to get an answer from the Kuro Neko.

"… Yes, I did," Natsume admitted. (A/N: Woohoo! Wait, what am I saying? I'm the one writing this! Please ignore my delusional comment…)

"_Demo… Nande…? Nande…?_"

"…"

"Say something, Natsume-kun. _Onegaishimasu… _Natsume."

"Because… _Uchi…_" Natsume's grip on the blanket covers tightened. His heart was racing, just like Mikan's. Mikan gripped onto her collar, waiting for Natsume's answer. Natsume had stopped half-way and Mikan couldn't stand being unanswered. The blush on Mikan's face started to fade away slightly but the blush on Natsume's face was simply refusing to fade away, and it became even more evident than before. Natsume turned his back against Mikan's face.

"_Uchi…_" Natsume started again. "I… just wanted to shut you up."

"_NANI?????!!!!!_" Mikan screeched angrily.

"You were being so noisy, you baka! Don't you know that when you're in the _byouin _you have to keep your volume down at all times?"

"Natsume…!!"

"Oh, and by the way, what kind of toothpaste do you use to brush your teeth? Your breath stinks."

"NATSUME……. HENTAI!!!!!" Mikan screamed at the top of her voice, despite the fact that one nurse occasionally popped in to tell her to keep quiet. Mikan was about to run over to Natsume to strangle him alive but she tripped over the foot of her chair and fell on the ground, her skirt lifting up. Mikan realized it and hoped that Natsume didn't see her underwear again. She got up, dusted herself, and pulled her skirt down to cover her underwear, completely forgetting about strangling Natsume.

"Before I forget, next time, ask me along whenever you want to buy your underwear because you sure have a weird taste in underwear… _Kiiroi Hana Kara_."

'_Kiiroi Hana Kara…? Isn't that my…???_" Mikan's face turned fiery red, and it wasn't because she was having an intimate moment with Natsume. It was because she was mad. Oh so very mad…

"NA…TSU…ME…… YOU HENTAI!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mikan screeched until she almost lost her voice. Natsume just covered his ears with his hands and ducked under the bed sheet covers.

"_Urusai Kiiroi Hana Kara onnanoko……_!" Natsume commented. His voice was muffled because he was under the bed sheet covers. If Mikan were a volcano, she would've erupted 3 times in a row because of that one Japanese comment.

"Argh!! If you weren't lying in the hospital bed, Natsume, I swear, I would kill you on the spot!"

"Whatever." Natsume stated as he quickly hid the approaching blush. '_Why the heck am I blushing like this? It's not like she has done anything cute…_' At that thought, Natsume's blush became even heavier as he continued to bear with Mikan's delusional babbles about Natsume seeing her underwear.

**Meanwhile, with Hotaru and Ruka…**

"Ah, this is my chance. Once this leaks out, I'm sure even the teachers will be lining up to buy it for 3000 Rabbits," Hotaru stated emotionlessly.

"You evil _onnanoko…_" Ruka replied with a sweat drop on his head. '_But then again…_' A slight blush appeared on Ruka's face as he continued to stare at Hotaru busily filming Natsume and Mikan's kissing scene. '_That's one reason why I like you, Imai…_'

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A/N: _Gomenasai _for a short chapter with a lot of dialogue! I just can't help myself! I love dialogue! I'm only good with dialogue! _Gomenasai… _Anyway, I love this chapter even more than the previous chapter. I think you can figure out why yourself! (wink wink) I also changed the Next Chapter part of the previous chapter. Sorry but I can't help myself! I love this kind of intimate moments! I hope you people like this chapter too!

Next chapter: Natsume is discharged from the hospital but he is immediately sent on another mission. What can Mikan do about that?

_Eeto…: Uh, well…__　ええと_

_Nande?: Why? (I think so…)__　なんで_

_Uchi: I (I think so…)__　うち　_

_Onegaishimasu: Please (the most complete and MAYBE the most polite way of saying it)__　おねがいします_

_Byouin: hospital__　びょういん_

_Kiiroi Hana Kara: Yellow Flower Pattern (direct translation)__きいろい　はな　から_

_Urusai: noisy __うるさい_

_Onnanoko: girl__　おんなのこ_


	4. I Won't Let Natsume Go!

Author's Note: I'd like to thank **xXTomokoXx **for pointing out some mistakes I made with the Japanese translation from the previous chapter. However, I am quite confused about _Uchi _since whenever I hear it in anime the subtitles showed 'I' but when I checked it up in a Japanese-English dictionary, it meant 'inside'. I am not sure about this…

'Why?' in Japanese is neither _nande _nor _naze_, as **xXTomokoXx **pointed out it was _naze_, but I've checked it up in the Japanese-English dictionary and 'Why?' is actually _doshite?_ どして

Thanks for pointing it out though, **xXTomokoXx**-san!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 4 – I Won't Let Natsume Go!

"Natsume, are you sure you don't want to rest?" asked a worried Ruka. "Your arm still seems to be in a pretty bad condition…"

"_Daijoubu_, Ruka. I don't feel anymore pain from it," Natsume replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"If you say so."

Natsume was resting well in the hospital for the past few days, but after the kissing incident, things have been pretty awkward around Natsume and Mikan. It was Natsume himself who requested for the early discharge from the hospital since he didn't want Mikan to go through all the trouble to visit him after school practically everyday and yet feel awkward around him.

"Ah, Natsume… There's something I have to tell you," said Ruka.

"Hn?"

"Well… I suppose you know about the incident two days ago?"

"Yeah?" Natsume, being the boy genius, definitely knew.

"Imai has copies of it."

"… And…?" Natsume didn't sound any more emotionless.

"She's selling them for 3000 Rabbits each."

Natsume could've sworn, if he swears, that he could burn Hotaru to crisps if she wasn't Mikan's best friend. Ruka noticed that Natsume's good hand was forming a small flame and he added, "Imai also made them fireproof, **_just in case_**," with a lot more emphasis on 'just in case'. Natsume scowled a little under his breath and put his hands back into his pockets, seeming to have stopped caring about it.

As if on cue, a certain little brunette came along, screaming, "NATSUME, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!" And Mikan crashed into Natsume who fell on his back as a result of the rough impact.

"Ugh!" Natsume tilted up his head to look at Mikan straight in the eye. "Oi, _Kiiroi Hana Kara_, what's wrong with you?!"

"Hyuuga Natsume-kun…! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Mikan screamed as she held up a photograph. Natsume stared at the photo for a while.

"What's the big deal?"

"EXCUSE ME??!! A photo of us kissing and you think it's 'no big deal'?!"

"Well, think of it this way, baka youju, there's nothing we can do about this matter."

For a while, Mikan was speechless. Then she thought of something and resumed her smiling and told Natsume, "_Wakata! _Why don't we tell everyone in class that you're the one who started this in the first place?"

"You baka, do you think they'd listen to a one star like you and don't believe in a special star like me?" Natsume pointed out, flipping his finger on Mikan's forehead who cried out in pain. Mikan rubbed her forehead angrily and Ruka helped Natsume up once Mikan got off Natsume. Natsume stood up and stuffed his hands in his pockets again. He sure likes doing that…

Turning to face Ruka, Natsume motioned, "_Ikuzo_, Ruka."

"Ah," replied Ruka who patted his Usagi and followed Natsume to the Academy, leaving Mikan behind to begin following them as well.

**Class B classroom…**

"Ooh, Natsume-kun!"

"Ooh, are you feeling better already?!"

"Of course! This is **_my_** Natsume-kun we're talking about here! Of course he's feeling better!"

"**_Your _**Natsume-kun?! He's **_mine, _**ya hear!"

"No he's mine!"

"He's **_MINE!_**"

Crowds of Natsume and Ruka Fan Club fan girls squealed and screamed as they fell for Natsume and Ruka, literally. It's evident in the floor tile markings on their faces. Natsume and Ruka didn't bother to look at them in the eye and just made their way to their seats at the back of the class. Mikan had followed them there and spotted Hotaru sitting on her seat, counting the amount of Rabbits she earned through her blackmail occupation. "HOTARUUUUUUU!!!" Mikan yelled happily, as if she had totally forgotten about the photo.

"Get away from me, lover-girl," Hotaru said monotonously, taking out her Baka Gun.

**Baka! Baka! Baka! **

"Waaaahhhhh… Hotaru-chan, you evil _onnanoko_…" Mikan cried as she rubbed her head. It took some tiem for her brain to process what Hotaru had said. "Hah? Lover-girl?" Mikan immediately realized what Hotaru meant. "WHHHHAAAAA?! I am NOT a lover-girl!!!"

"Yes you are. You're Hyuuga's, aren't you, Mikan-chan?"

The fan girls glared at Mikan, seeming ready to pounce on her and kill her on the spot. Natsume appeared like he didn't care but he was blushing like mad behind his manga.

"ME?! NATSUME'S GIRL??!!!! NO WAY!!!!" Mikan screamed at the top of her voice.

"Then how do you explain…" Hotaru picked up one copy of the video tape she got about Natsume and Mikan kissing. "… this?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the fan girls screeched, attracting the attention of the teachers at the Faculty Room.

**Later…**

Narumi sensei, Serina sensei, Jinno sensei and Misaki sensei all came down from the Faculty Room to the classroom to check out the reason behind all that loud screeching. Narumi was normal, looking at his students with a smile, Serina was no different, but Misaki seemed a little frustrated while Jinno was glaring at them. Even though Jinno started to learn from Narumi about how to take students in hand, he still had his own way of teaching.

"What is the meaning of all this screaming and shouting?!" Jinno faced the fan girls. "You girls! What's with the screaming?"

"T… Tha… That Mikan over there…" one of the girls started and Jinno glared at Mikan.

"Miss Sakura… I suppose you know what is going on?"

"Ah… A-ah…" Mikan looked nervously over to Natsume who was still hiding his blush behind his manga. "W-well… y-you see…"

"You see…" a familiar voice spoke out from outside the classroom. "My little Kuro Neko has made his move on this adorable tangerine Neko."

"Persona?" Narumi called.

"I'm right here." Persona came from behind the classroom doors.

"What are you doing here, Persona? You're not welcome right now," Jinno stated.

"I just want to…" Persona looked at Natsume who was glaring hard at him. Persona smiled. "… have a word with Natsume."

Natsume sighed and got up from his seat. He put his manga away and walked towards Persona. Ruka stood up and wanted to stop him from going but Natsume put up his hand to signal to Ruka that it was fine. Everyone watched Natsume walk out of the room without saying anything and soon Natsume and Persona disappeared from the classroom.

"Natsume…" Persona started.

"Hm?"

"I'm disappointed in you."

"And why is that?"

"You let that girl appear in your thoughts all the time. Ever since she came along, you either get hurt or fail your missions. Does she really have that much of an impact on you?"

"…"

"Nevertheless, work cannot be neglected. I'm sure you understand, Natsume."

"There's another mission for me, right?"

"You **_are _**a smart boy after all. Now… come."

"_Matte!!!_" a voice rang out. It was Mikan. "Natsume-kun, you can't go on a mission right now! Not with your arm like this!" Mikan yelled as she ran over to roll up Natsume's sleeve, revealing a bloody bandage over Natsume's wound.

"It's nothing, you baka…" Natsume stated as he brushed Mikan's hand away and pull down his sleeve.

"This is not 'nothing'! You understand, Natsume?!"

"Why do you even care, you baka?"

"Because I just care about you!"

"… Baka…" Natsume muttered under his breath as he proceeded to follow Persona. Mikan ran over and tugged on his shirt in order to stop him. "Okay, now what do you want?"

"I want you to stay here, with us! With me…"

"…"

"Natsume…" Persona started. "Hurry up. You wouldn't want to keep the opponents waiting. And I'm sure that this little Neko would want you back safe and sound."

"I won't let Natsume go, ya hear!" Mikan exclaimed and turned to look at Natsume in the eye. "Natsume… You know that, right? That I won't let you go…?"

"M… Mikan…" Natsume whispered Mikan's name, remembering the time Mikan told him that they would go back to the Academy **_together_** after they escaped from Reo.

"Please, Natsume… _Onegaishimasu, _Natsume-kun… _Onegaishimasu…_"

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A/N: So how was this one? Not much humor, so I tried with some romance at the last bit. There's also a reference to one episode at the last part. So do you like this chapter?

Next chapter: Persona keeps on pestering Natsume and Mikan is thoroughly upset with this matter. And what's worse, the AAO has started to dispatch its spies to the Academy to capture Natsume! Will Natsume and Mikan pull through? What if Natsume's life-sucking Alice has finally begun to take full effect?!

_Wakata: I know__　わかた_

_Ikuzo: Let's go__　いくぞ_


	5. Trouble is Brewing

Author's Note: Ah, the fifth chapter already? Time sure flies, doesn't it? OK, I'm not saying that this fic is coming to an end just yet, because that'll be way too soon, but that means that at least a month has passed since I posted this fic here. To me, it only felt like last week, lol. Anyway, moving on…

Oh yes, before I forget, I may not be able to update next week. _Gomenasai, minna-san, demo _it's a special day for me next Saturday and I have promised to hang out with my friends at the arcade, party and possibly a movie. As a token of my apologies, I shall update two chapters at once the week after that. But don't take my words for granted though. There is still a chance that I can update. Just not so soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice. I only own my OCs when they appear.

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_In the last chapter…_

"_I want you to stay here, with us! With me…"_

"…"

"_Natsume…" Persona started. "Hurry up. You wouldn't want to keep the opponents waiting. And I'm sure that this little Neko would want you back safe and sound."_

"_I won't let Natsume go, ya hear!" Mikan exclaimed and turned to look at Natsume in the eye. "Natsume… You know that, right? That I won't let you go…?" _

"_M… Mikan…" Natsume whispered Mikan's name, remembering the time Mikan told him that they would go back to the Academy **together** after they escaped from Reo._

"_Please, Natsume… Onegaishimasu, Natsume-kun… Onegaishimasu…"_

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Chapter 5 – Trouble is Brewing

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…………"

"… Uh… Erm… Natsume… You really didn't have to do that to him, you know…" muttered Mikan, breaking the wall of silence between them.

"That b--tard deserved it," Natsume replied without much emotion.

"But because of you, Persona is in the hospital!"

"Do I look like I care?" Natsume asked coldly, giving Mikan a small glare.

Persona had been pestering Natsume and Mikan for a long time. Natsume had had enough of him. Just now, when Persona was urging Natsume to go on his mission, Mikan came along to stop Natsume from following Persona. Persona kept on bugging them and even tried catching Mikan to use her as a threat against Natsume but Natsume protected Mikan throughout the whole ordeal. Because Natsume was so frustrated with Persona, he unleashed his Fire Alice on Persona, burning some of Persona's earrings and rings.

Persona was so badly burnt that he had to be admitted to the hospital and stay hospitalized for at least two weeks.

"Natsume…"

"Don't even get me started, _Ichigo_. You wanted me to stay, right?" Mikan slowly nodded and Natsume continued, "Aren't I staying already?"

Mikan, having a very slow reaction, thought about the event previously and realized what Natsume was telling her. She smiled that trademark smile of hers once more and proceeded to give Natsume one big hug. "Oh, Natsume, I'm so glad! Does that mean that you won't be going on missions anymore?"

"First of all, get off me before I burn your skirt." Mikan backed off upon realizing what she was doing and blushed slightly. "Second of all, I'm not entirely sure whether or not I'll be sent on missions. But I **_do _**know that until Persona is discharged from the hospital, I won't be going on any mission at all."

"Mou, that still means that you're staying with us! I'm so happy!" Mikan rushed over to give Natsume another hug but Natsume pushed her away.

"Don't hug me. You'll infect me with your baka illness."

**A few days later…**

**WAKE UP, BAKA MIKAN! WAKE UP, BAKA MIKAN! WAKE-!**

**TAP!**

Mikan switched the alarm clock off, pulled up her bed sheet covers and tried to get back to sleep. The alarm clock was given to her by Hotaru in case Mikan overslept. However, even with Hotaru's genius invention, Mikan still woke up late.

"_Invention no. 038: The Baka Alarm Clock. It looks like any other ordinary alarm clock and works the same way as well. The only difference is that the buzzing and annoying alarm can only be heard by bakas such as Mikan. Other people who aren't bakas cannot hear the alarm. This invention can come in personal alarm clocks, for example, the one Mikan has is specially made only for her. In this case, Mikan is the only person who can hear it. Get your own Baka Alarm Clock now if you want your baka friends or family to wake up early in the morning,_" Hotaru explained. She removed her professor hat and took long, deep breaths. Her arms were behind her back and Hotaru walked along the corridor to Mikan's one star bedroom. "As expected, Mikan the Baka still hasn't woken up yet." Hotaru fished out a remote control and started pushing the levers and the buttons. "_Ichi, ni, san…_"

**WAKE UP, BAKA MIKAN! WAKE UP, BAKA MIKAN! WAKE UP, BAKA MIKAN! WAKE UP…**

"IMAI HOTARU!!!!!" Mikan's screams could be heard along the long corridors and Hotaru used the remote to switch off the Baka Alarm Clock.

"Hurry up, Mikan, or else you'll be late for school," Hotaru stated monotonously as she walked away from Mikan's room and rode her duck scooter to school.

"Late? _Ima, nanji desuka?_" Mikan asked apparently to no one since she was alone in her room. She picked up her alarm clock and the time read '7.30 am'. "OH NO! SCHOOL STARTS AT 8!! I'd better get ready!" Mikan rushed over to her wardrobe and pulled out her school uniform. She put it on and took her schoolbag. Rushing down the corridors and on her way to the classroom, she collided with someone else and fell onto the ground.

"_Itai… _Oh, _gomenasai! _I wasn't looking where I was-huh?" Mikan looked at the person she collided with on a closer basis and saw that it was… "Natsume?"

"Hn. Looks like next time you should really watch where you're going, _Remon Kara_," Natsume replied as he got up and walked away.

"_Remon Kara? Demo… _that's my…!" Mikan looked down and realized that her skirt was lifted up. Natsume had seen her underwear again. "NATSUME HENTAI!!!"

**Hours later…**

A shadowy figure hopped from a branch to another branch, watching Natsume and Mikan from afar. In the shadows of the trees, the shadowy figure smiled and resumed hopping around to get to his destination. The figure jumped down from one of the branches and appeared before Mikan. Mikan took a few steps back.

"Who… who are you?" Mikan asked, feeling rather scared. The figure's laugh sent chills down Mikan's spine.

"Your worst nightmare." The figure then took a step closer to Mikan and Mikan took a step further from the figure. Mikan turned to run but the figure caught her by her arm. Mikan tried to struggle free, even resorting to her biting technique but the figure just wouldn't give up. Before the figure could take Mikan away with him, a circle of fire appeared, surrounding Mikan and the figure with fire.

"Fire? Then that means… Natsume!" Mikan guessed. Sure enough, our favourite Kuro Neko jumped from the windowsill of the classroom and entered the circle of fire. He grabbed Mikan by her hips and jumped away from the fire. Now only the figure stood alone in the fire. Upon realizing that he was close to Mikan, Natsume let go of her and hid his blush by looking away. He diverted his attention to the shadowy figure.

"She's asked you once, but I'm going to ask you this time. Who are you?" Natsume demanded. The figure was hiding his face as two forms of protection: one form is to protect himself from the blazing fire, and the other form is to protect his identity. "Who are you?" Natsume asked again with a hint of rising anger in his voice.

"Natsume-kun, ask nicely. Maybe he'll tell us then," whispered Mikan into Natsume's ear. Natsume seemed quite reluctant but he nodded.

"If you tell us who you are, then I'll let you go. If you don't, you'll die. So which one will it be?" Natsume asked, trying to make his question sound nicer. Mikan sweat dropped. It wasn't exactly the kind of 'nice' she had in mind.

"I… I am…" the figure muttered out. "I am from the AAO…" Mikan gasped while Natsume blinked. The figure continued, "I've been assigned a task to kidnap that little girl and a person the AAO refers to as the Kuro Neko. I… I really don't know what's going on… All I know is that I want this Academy to fall! That's why I joined the AAO! We'll crush this Academy and get all the Alices to join us and take over the world!"

A fireball struck the figure in the face and caused the figure to fall backwards, his face badly charred. The fireball came from no one else other than Natsume. "I only asked for your identity, not your life story, freak."

**The next day…**

"All right, class! We are having a new teacher at the Alice Academy!" Narumi announced, clapping his hands to get his students' attention. "She will be teaching both the Special Abilities class and the Dangerous Abilities class. Her name is Akai Nuko."

As if on cue, a woman with long brown hair wearing a sky blue top and ocean blue skirt came into the classroom. She was wearing a white bracelet and a pendant as Alice control devices. The class took a lot of interest in her, especially Mikan and Natsume surprisingly.

"The reason why she is teaching both classes is because she wants to teach the Dangerous Abilities class while her Ice Alice is under Special Abilities. So the Headmaster has decided to let her teach both classes and work together with the Special Abilities class teacher Nodachi and Dangerous Abilities class teacher Persona. I hope those of you in the two classes will warmly welcome her!" Narumi picked up his teaching books and proceeded to get out of the classroom. "_Ja ne, minna!_ I hope everyone can get along with her!"

Nuko put her hands behind her back and walked in front of the class. "All right, class. Now is free period for all of you. I would also like to speak to a couple of students. Where is the class representative?" Yuu raised up his hand. "May I have the class name list?" Yuu took out a copy of the class name list from his bag and handed it to Nuko. Nuko read the names, "All right, I would like to speak to these students: Imai Hotaru…"

"Huh?" murmured Hotaru.

"Nogi Ruka…"

"What?" muttered Ruka.

"Sakura Mikan…"

"Eh?! Why me?" exclaimed Mikan.

"And… Hyuuga Natsume." All eyes were on Natsume. Natsume, being Natsume, shrugged his shoulders as a response. "Can the following students please come up and get out of the classroom while I speak with you?" The named students reluctantly obeyed and got up from their seats and out of the classroom.

**Outside the classroom…**

"You must all be wondering why I sent you out here to talk?" Nuko asked. Hotaru continued to stare at her, Ruka was patting his Usagi, Mikan was too nervous and Natsume just simply didn't care. Nuko continued, "Well, I just want to know more about you. I understand that you were part of the incident when a certain Mouri Reo came to your school?" This gained the attention from all four of them. "Your class was the only whole class brave enough to stand up to him. I know it must've been influenced by all of your bravery too. I'm just a little interested in you."

"Wha… What do you want to know about us?" Mikan asked.

"I want to know your Alices. Once we're done with that, I can tell you which Alice Life Form you fall into, and then we'll proceed with something else." Everyone was very unsure about it. Mikan was clinging onto Natsume and Hotaru, shockingly, was holding onto Ruka's hand. The girls' actions made the boys blush.

"Fine," Hotaru began. "The Alice of Invention."

"You fall into the category which allows you to use your Alice for long periods of time but in small amounts of power."

"I thought so," muttered Hotaru under her breath.

"Then, the Alice of Animal Pheromone?" Ruka muttered out.

"It's in the same category as Imai-san." Ruka and Hotaru looked at each other and blushed heavily.

"How about the Alice of Nullification?" Mikan asked, trusting Nuko.

"N-n-nullification Alice…?" Nuko suddenly looked very frightened. "I-I am afraid I don't know… The Nullification A-Alice is v-very r-r-r-rare…"

"Oh… okay…" Mikan said disappointedly.

"H-how about you, Hyuuga-kun?" Nuko asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Hn, I don't need to know. I already know," Natsume replied with another 'hmph' at the end.

"Oh fine, if that's what you want to do," Nuko replied. "You may go back now. I need to go back to Faculty Room for a moment or so." The students, feeling rather startled that it was over so quickly, nodded and went back into the classroom. Nuko walked towards the Faculty Room but went past it. Instead, Nuko went to a dark corner where no one was there and she fished out her handphone. It was obsidian black with a nice shine to it and had the Gakuen Alice star on top, but with a blood red mark across it. She unfolded it. (A/N: It's a foldable phone.)

Nuko tapped some numbers and brought the phone to her ear. The line rang for a while before a voice spoke, "Hello?"

"Hello, it's me."

"Ah, I thought so. Have you spoken to the students?"

"Yes. I had no idea they'd be so foolish enough to tell me their Alices. Now we can use this information against them. However… there **_is _**one problem…"

"What is it?"

"That Hyuuga boy… He's as stubborn as a mule. He wouldn't tell me his Alice."

"Ah, like father like son. But that's alright. Reo has already told us everything we need to know about Hyuuga Natsume. Good try though… Aisu."

"Thank you, boss. When will we capture those troublemakers and convince them to work for us?"

"As soon as Hyuuga Natsume's life-sucking Alice takes over."

"And when would that be?"

"If I'm not wrong, Aisu… it'll be tonight."

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A/N: Hm… maybe I should've added a bit more suspense there… Oh, if you're wondering about the Alice Life Form thingy, it's first mentioned in episode 11 of Gakuen Alice. I just made Hotaru's and Ruka's up. I'm not sure if my guesses are correct or not, but judging their Alices, I just made those guesses. If anyone knows which category their Alices fall into, please inform me straight away.

Okay, I got something to say: I might be able to update tomorrow, but don't get your hopes up! I might still be quite busy tomorrow though! On the other hand, I'm going to a friend's house this evening and her mother said that if I want to, I can still update another chapter. I hope I can, but if I can't, that's to be expected. Anyway, when you see the chapter number going up, that means I'm updating.

Next chapter: Nuko is identified as an AAO spy by Mikan, Ruka and Hotaru. Poor Natsume had to make another trip to the hospital because of his life-sucking Alice. With Natsume weakened, the AAO proceeds to capture the four friends. Can Mikan, Natsume, Ruka and Hotaru escape the AAO's clutches?

_Ichi: One__　いち_

_Ni: Two__　に_

_San: Three__　さん_

_Ima: Now__　いま_

_Nanji desuka?: What's the time?__　なんじ　ですか？_

_Itai: Ow (a signal of pain)__　いたい_

_Remon Kara: Lemon Pattern__　レモン　から_

_Ja ne: See you later! __　じゃ　ね！_


	6. The AAO Strikes!

Author's Note: _Domo arigatou gozaimasu _for all of the sweet and motivating reviews! Plus, _gomenasai _for not updating quickly. It's just that it was my birthday last Saturday and I decided to go out for a party dinner with my family and a few of my friends, including **Tsukiria.** It was fun, but of course I totally felt like updating. As an apology, I shall throw in two, and I mean, _**two **_chapters at one go.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 6 – The AAO Strikes!

Midnight soon crept into the premises of the famous Alice Academy. All Alices were sound asleep, even the Kuro Neko for a change. Natsume was sleeping peacefully without another of his freakish nightmares, and for once he was happy that it was so. Mikan, on the other hand, was having nightmares about some deranged lunatic stealing her Howalon. Hotaru was having ever so sweet dreams about earning thousands of Rabbits from blackmailing and Ruka was having a nightmare about Hotaru blackmailing him instead.

The teachers were the only ones who weren't asleep, as they had to stay up all night to mark the students' papers and assess their scores. Nuko, or rather, Aisu was awake as well, but she wasn't wide awake to mark papers. She was awake for something else. Something that was very important to the Academy…

"Boss," Aisu whispered into her AAO handphone which she used secretly. "When will that Hyuuga boy suffer the effects of his Alice? It's approaching dusk already."

"Don't be so impatient, Aisu, my dear. The time will come very soon…"

"How soon?"

"You'll see in due time, my dear."

"Yes, Boss. I understand. There _**is **_something that I would like to ask, though, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead."

"How do you even know _**when **_Hyuuga Natsume will suffer another relapse? It's not something that we can predict, unless of course, Boss, that your Alice is of the prediction kind? Now that I think about it… you have never told me what your Alice is."

"Wow, I had no idea that I have hired such an intelligent agent. That is correct, my Alice is the Alice of Prediction. And I can predict anything that can happen anytime in the future. You are absolutely right, Aisu. Well done in figuring out what my Alice is. You should get merit points for that achievement."

"Thank you for the praise, Boss, and I won't let you down in this mission."

"I know you won't." And the speaker soon hang up the phone. Aisu folded the handphone and hid it in her pocket. She got up from her chair and proceeded to walk out of the door. Some teachers didn't notice her as they were either too busy or were already nodding off to sleep. Only one teacher was free and awake enough to notice the AAO spy walking out of the Faculty Room.

"Oh, Nuko sensei," the teacher called. Aisu turned to face the owner of the voice, and she came face-to-face with the ever so famous Narumi sensei. "Hello, Nuko sensei. It's so nice to see you so active. Are you going out to get some coffee?"

"Oh, uh…" Aisu tried to think up of an excuse. "Well, apparently, yes I am. I'm going to make myself some coffee to keep myself going. Is anything the matter?"

"Well, not exactly, but if it's not too much of a hassle, could you get some coffee for everyone in the Faculty Room? The other teachers seem like they could really use some caffeine to stay awake." As Narumi said it, a random teacher who was working so hard went berserk and knocked his head on the wall and fell unconscious. The other teachers obviously didn't care, because they were used to the random teacher's delusional actions.

"I suppose why not. After all, you'll need the coffee to stay awake, and _**watch for anything suspicious here**_," Aisu's lips curved to a little smirk before she proceeded to walk out of the Faculty Room. Narumi just looked after her with a vacant expression on his face.

"Just remember to make coffee for all of us!" Narumi shouted, glad that he didn't need to do any labour work in the end.

Aisu put her hands in the pockets of her coat and she continued walking down the empty corridors of the floor. She walked down the stairs and walked towards the students' rooms. She passed by many rooms with the respective students' names on the doors and was looking around. She couldn't find Natsume's room on that particular floor and decided to walk back up the stairs. As Aisu crept passed by more students' rooms, she finally reached her target's room. At the same time, her handphone was ringing.

"Yes, agent 009 Aisu speaking," responded Aisu.

"Aisu," came her boss' reply. "It's almost time."

Aisu grinned. "I thought so. I'm already in front of his room."

"Excellent. Now, open it and enter our target's room."

"That was what I intended to do before your phone call interrupted me," Aisu retorted, trying to pry open Natsume's door, only to discover that it was locked. "Boss, it's locked. Should I use my Alice?"

"Do whatever you like to get the boy, and get away from the school as soon as you get your icy hands on him."

"I'll take that as a yes." Aisu took in a deep breath, and held it there for a moment or so before she exhaled, letting out a translucent blue mist from her mouth. The mist surrounded the doorknob, and soon, there was hard, cold ice covering the doorknob. Aisu held up her right hand and chopped the ice apart, causing the doorknob to crack a little. She tried to open the door and the door welcomed her in.

"Are you in?" Aisu's boss asked impatiently.

"Yes, Boss. I'm in."

"Good. Do you see out target sleeping on his king-sized bed?"

Aisu took a look around and noticed Natsume sleeping soundly. "Yes, I can see him."

"Now try to take him away with you and don't ever wake him up, or else he'll burn you into crisps."

"Don't worry, Boss." Aisu hang up the phone, and she placed it back into her pocket. She tip-toed over to the sleeping figure of Natsume, and glanced down at him. He looked as sweet and delicate as an angel when he was asleep, but he was the total opposite when he was awake, of course. "So, this is who we're after? An adorable sleeping male angel? He can't seem to hurt a fly when he's asleep, and this'll just make things even easier for me."

Aisu was about to use her Ice Alice to freeze the sleeping Natsume on the spot, but Natsume suddenly looked agitated and was sweating profusely, even though the air-conditioner in his room was at full blast. Aisu could see that the fire caster was gripping onto his bed sheet covers tightly. It was so tight that Natsume transmitted fiery heat onto it, even though he was asleep.

"Oh, so it seems that Boss' prediction came true. Looks like I'll have to make a run for it before he wakes up." And with that, Aisu disappeared as she ran out of the room and into the darkened corridors. Her running footsteps could be heard by a certain animal lover who was slightly awake for a glass of water. Ruka opened his door, holding a glass of water in his hand and rubbed his groggy eyes.

"Ugh, who could be up at this time of the night?" By the time Ruka could take a look at Aisu, Aisu had already disappeared. "Guess it was no one. Huh?" Ruka noticed that his best friend's door was wide open, and he could see that the doorknob was breaking apart. Ruka locked his own door and ran over to Natsume's room. What he saw frightened him. "NATSUME!"

Within the next few minutes, Ruka had rushed to the Faculty Room to inform the teachers about Natsume, and Narumi had called the ambulance which was within the school's premises. Awakened by the sudden commotion made by a worried Ruka, Mikan and Hotaru demanded to know what was going on, Hotaru even going to the extent of blackmailing Ruka. When they heard that Natsume was suffering, Mikan had worry and shock written all over her face, and Hotaru dropped her Baka Gun.

"_NANI???!!_ Is Natsume going to be all right?! Ruka-pyon, is he?! IS HE??!!!" Mikan screamed, accidentally waking the other students up as well. Mikan didn't seem to notice as she was way too worried, and she was gripping onto Ruka's collar.

"Sakura-san, take it easy! I'm just as worried as you are!"

"A-ah… _Gomen…_" Mikan then let go of the animal boy.

"Natsume has been brought to the school's hospital. We can go over to check up on him, but I'm not sure if we are allowed entry or not…"

Hotaru reloaded her Baka Gun and aimed it at Ruka. "Take us there, or else I'll make you do so _**by force**_."

**Several moments later…**

"Narumi sensei!" Mikan called.

"Mikan-chan, Hotaru-chan, Ruka-kun? You're all here?" asked the Human Pheromone teacher.

"_Hai_! We came to find out about Natsume-kun's condition! Tell me, Narumi sensei, will Natsume-kun be all right?"

"M-Mikan-chan…" Narumi bent down in order to reach her height and talk to her face-to-face. "Natsume-kun… Natsume-kun will…"

"E-eh?" Mikan gripped onto her sleeping attire, and Hotaru was gripping onto Ruka's hand. Ruka gripped hers back with determination and fear.

"Natsume-kun won't… be able to attend school for probably the next few weeks."

"Eh?! _N-nani?!_ _Doshite, _Narumi sensei?!"

"You see, Mikan," Narumi began. "As you already know, Natsume-kun's Alice is the type that always shortens his lifespan every time he uses it, and I can conclude that from what I have just seen that… he has overused his Alice again. The doctors are still trying to figure out a way to bring his weakened condition under control."

"_Sokka……_" Tears were forming in Mikan's eyes. '_What if…? What if… Natsume will really die…? I don't want him to die!_'

_Dear Ojii-chan, for the past few days, I can't seem to concentrate on schoolwork anymore. I can't even focus my mind to answer Jin-Jin's simple Math questions like 'What is 2 plus 2?' I don't know what to do anymore. Things are happening so quickly. From the day that I saw Natsume-kun suffering with my own eyes till today, I still can't believe that the life-shortening Alice is so scary! Ojii-chan, what should I do to ease Natsume-kun's pain?_

Mikan's letter seemed to have ended quite abruptly, but she didn't care. She folded her letter into half, and folded the half into another half. She placed the folded letter into an envelope and pasted a stamp on it. The stamp had a small tear drop as its design, symbolizing Mikan's worry for Natsume. Mikan held the envelope in her hands, and hugged it slightly, as if hoping that her grandfather could somehow reply to her with an answer to solve her problem.

For the next few days, Natsume still didn't attend school, and it had already been two weeks. Mikan could only stare at the fire caster's empty seat at the back of the classroom every morning she stepped into class, and her mood would worsen day by day, and Hotaru revealed that her depressed state could cause Mikan's appetite to become poor as well. Long story short, everyone was unhappy.

Everyone… except for Aisu.

"Alright, that's the end of our lesson, class," Aisu announced, and she stepped out of the classroom. She was greeted by no one from the class again, since everyone was in such a bad mood. Only she was the one happy in that situation, since everything seemed to be going according to plan. She went to a dark corner of the school and took out her AAO handphone, starting to dial some numbers on the pad.

"Ne, Mikan, can you come out with me for a while?" Hotaru asked. "I have something to tell you, and you too, animal boy."

"Me?" Ruka confirmed, pointing a finger towards himself. Mikan and Ruka couldn't help but agree to the blackmailer's request. They went out of the classroom and Ruka asked, "So, Imai, what do you want?"

"I want to tell you about my suspicions."

"Suspicions? What suspicions?"

"You see, I've noticed…" Hotaru began explaining. "I've noticed that everyone has been unhappy ever since they learnt about Natsume being hospitalized because of his Alice, including the teachers. But the weird thing is that only one teacher is still being herself, even though she knows about Natsume's case."

"Huh? Who is so heartless, Hotaru?!" Mikan demanded.

"I suspect Nuko sensei…"

"Nuko sensei?" Ruka and Mikan asked simultaneously.

"Now that you mention it… Nuko sensei has been acting even more cheerful than before lately…" Ruka wondered aloud, thinking about the situation.

"Yes, and that is why I have asked you two to come out with me. I've decided to tail her and find out whether she has anything to do with Hyuuga's case, or even the AAO. Mikan, whatever Alice she uses on us will be Nullified because of you, so I need you to come. Nogi, you can use your Animal Pheromone Alice to give commands to animals and ask them to help us when things get nasty. Is that alright?"

"I don't care what you make me do, Imai, because if it's for my best friend, I'll do anything for him," Ruka concluded determinedly.

"Me too," agreed Mikan.

"That's good. I knew you two would help. Come on, Nuko sensei went this way," Hotaru ordered, leading them.

"How do you know, Imai?" Ruka asked.

"Simple. I always notice that she walks by this way each time her lesson ends. Now stop asking dumb questions and follow me."

The threesome ran until they heard Aisu's voice speaking into the phone. Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka hid behind a wall near to her and listened intently. Hotaru sighed as they still couldn't hear a thing and stuffed her hand into her pocket. She took out something and handed it to her best friend and her crush.

"_Invention no. 039: Amplifier Rings. They help in letting the wearer hear muffled voices. The rings can only work if the wearer is near the owner of the voice that he/she is spying on. The voice is then amplified to let the wearer hear loudly, but only to the wearer. Side note: I created this invention only because I was trying to get some 'rich' words coming from Nogi._"

Mikan, Hotaru and an annoyed Ruka put on the Amplifier Rings and put their ears against the wall, listening very closely this time. They could hear what Aisu was speaking into her phone, and tried not to let out any noise to attract her attention.

"Yes, Boss, Hyuuga Natsume is still hospitalized. Yes, yes, I heard from Narumi that Natsume is still weakened even after two long weeks. Oh, yes, yes, I know, Boss. Thank you, Boss," Aisu spoke. "What? You want me to kidnap Natsume by tonight? Plus the other hindrances? Oh, all right, I understand, Boss. I assure you, everything will go smoothly."

The threesome couldn't hear anymore, and assumed that Aisu's phone conversation had ended. They removed the Amplifier Rings and returned them to Hotaru who put them back into her pockets. "So, Nuko sensei really _**is **_a spy from the AAO, and she's here to kidnap Natsume for them, just like what Reo did!" Mikan concluded. The other two could only nod grimly.

"This is bad. We have to inform the teachers," Ruka suggested. Just as they were about to go off to the Faculty Room, a figure stopped them by blowing ice onto the floor.

"Oh, you three won't be going anywhere," the cold voice spoke, obviously belonging to Aisu.

"N-nuko sensei!" Mikan exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry to burst your bubble, Mikan, but my name's not Nuko. My name is Aisu. And you are right. I _**am **_here to kidnap Natsume, but I am also here to kidnap you three nuisances!" With that, Aisu blew another ice wind towards them, freezing their feet except Mikan's since Mikan had the Nullification Alice. "Ah, yes, how can I forget the Nullification Alice? You can Nullify my Ice Alice, but can you Nullify…" Aisu took out three darts. "this?"

"W-wha… What are those darts?" Hotaru stammered for the first time. She was worried for her best friend's safety.

"What? These babies? Oh, nothing much, really… except for the fact that they are filled with a tranquilizers. Once they touch any part of your body, you'll instantly be sent to dream land, so watch out." Aisu took aim at Mikan first. "They shoot fast." Aisu tossed one dart towards Mikan, and Mikan, being the clumsy and ditzy girl she was, couldn't escape from the dart properly and got shot in the leg. She felt drowsy, and fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Her eyes began to close.

"Mikan!" Hotaru screamed.

"Now that she's taken care of, it's your turn."

And one by one, Ruka and Hotaru got taken out by Aisu's tranquilizer darts with no way to escape or call for help because each time they tried to, Aisu would use her Ice Alice to stop them. Ruka and Hotaru slept while standing since their feet were frozen solid and Mikan was sleeping on the ground. Aisu smiled, and called her boss for a van to come over.

And before the school bell rang to show that it was break time, Mikan and her friends had already been taken away by the AAO.

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A/N: Whew, that was pretty long. Next chapter is already posted, so all comments should be focused on the next chapter. But here's a tiny sneak preview:

Next chapter: The Academy learns about Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka's kidnapping, and Natsume is the only one left that the AAO wants but not yet to be captured. As the Academy strives to protect him, Natsume has to think of a way to save his friends as well as himself from the AAO's clutches. Will Natsume be able to help, or will he wind up getting kidnapped as well?


	7. The Critical Situation

Author's Note: Two chapters at one go can get really draining, you know? Anyway, these two chapters serve as an apology for not updating last week. Sheesh, I think I'm getting even more anime and manga favourites… Well, you can try and figure out what they are as I progress as an author here on FF.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 7 – The Critical Situation

"_NANI?!_" Narumi shouted, jumping from his position. "Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka have _**all **_been kidnapped?!"

"Y-y-yes, Narumi!" replied the poor substitute teacher. "I had to fill in for you again so I was walking by the classroom. At the same time, I saw a van with the AAO symbol take the children away! I tried to stop them, but Nuko stopped me by using her Ice Alice. As you can see…" the substitute teacher looked at his feet. "I am still stuck to the floor."

"Of course I can see that. You've tried to stop them anyway. But I wonder… why would they want to kidnap Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka?" Narumi wondered.

"That should be obvious by now, Naru," Serina stated, walking down from the Faculty Room. She was holding her crystal ball in her hands and was being very careful not to drop it. "Sakura-san, Imai-san and Nogi-san all have something to do with a certain target of the AAO, and the AAO must be planning to kidnap all four of them and convince them to work for the AAO."

"Target?"

"You should know, Naru, that the AAO's target is someone we all know. He was kidnapped once by Reo, because Reo had to convince him to work for them."

"Oh, right. And that would have to be…" Narumi stole a glance at the setting sun and his eyes narrowed to slits. "Hyuuga Natsume-kun. It looks like the AAO are making their move. They plan to only have Natsume to work for them, but they must've noticed that he would only do so if they threaten him like how Persona threatened him, so they probably thought that by using Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka, they would get what they want…" Narumi turned to face his colleagues. "We need to step up the security for Natsume's ward in the hospital! I have a bad feeling about this…"

Night was soon approaching, and the students were all wide awake, especially so for the students of Class B. The teachers from the Faculty Room have informed them about their classmates' kidnapping case, and had warned them to be on their guard in case they got kidnapped as well. The mostly worried ones were Yuu, Koko, Anna, Nonoko and Sumire. Koko, Anna, Nonoko and Sumire have all decided to sleep over in Yuu's three star bedroom just in case, and Yuu had prepared mattresses for them. They were looking at the window, hoping that the AAO members wouldn't appear from there. In the end, no one was able to get any sleep.

Over at the hospital, Natsume was lying down on his hospital bed, still seemingly knocked out. His Alice had drained too much of his life, and the doctors have ordered him to get some well-deserved rest more often. Luckily for him, though, his lifespan wasn't affected as much as they would've expected, so Natsume was in the safe zone temporarily. Narumi and Misaki were keeping a close eye on the fire caster at the hospital, even to the extent of staying over.

"He actually looks like an angel when he's asleep," Narumi commented.

"Yeah, but he turns into a demon when he's awake," Misaki joked.

"Do you think we should tell him what happened to his comrades?"

"Well, we can't possibly keep him in the dark forever, can we? For a boy genius like him, he's bound to find out in the end anyway. And besides, since when did he think of Sakura-san and Imai-san as his comrades?"

"Even though Natsume-kun doesn't show it, he truly cares for them. Even more than the rest of the class. You should've noticed by now."

"Fine, fine. Sheesh, we're digressing. So, anyway, how do you expect to tell him in his condition? Knowing him by now, he'd probably try to get himself discharged from the hospital and go look for them. Besides, you can't tell him when he's still asleep."

"Oh… you're right…" Narumi sighed sadly. "I just hope Mikan-chan and the others are all right…"

In a warehouse far away from the Academy's premises, Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka were lying on the ground, unconscious. Their hands and feet had been tied up tightly with thick ropes, and they had gags in their mouths. After some time, Mikan's eyes flickered open, and she took a look at her surroundings.

'_This place seems familiar… Was it the place where Natsume, Permy and I were held captive some time ago?'_ Mikan shook her head violently. '_No way, it can't be. That place exploded thanks to Natsume's Fire Alice. So I wonder where we are…_' Mikan spat out the gag in her mouth, relieved that she was free from that thing. Mikan nudged Hotaru.

"Ne, Hotaru-chan… Hotaru-chan…" Mikan whispered. Hotaru's eyes slowly opened. "You're awake. I'm so glad."

Hotaru spat her gag out as well, taking a few deep breaths in. "Where are we, Mikan?" Hotaru whispered back.

"I don't know, but I think it's somewhere far from the Academy."

"Where's Nogi?"

"Over there, right next to you."

"Sigh… Leave the waking of Nogi to me then, Mikan-chan," Hotaru rolled over to Ruka, but she noticed that she rolled a little too much and tried to stop, which she did, but she stopped only because she was touching something. Something _**warm…**_ '_Eh? What's this? Is there something on my lips?_' Hotaru scanned Ruka's sleeping face but she couldn't pinpoint where the problem was. '_No, nothing's wrong with Nogi. Then… what is touching my mouth? It smells like farm animals' breaths… Wait. Animals?!_' Hotaru's cold violet eyes widened. She knew what was happening.

_**She was kissing Ruka.**_

Hotaru rolled away a little, still shocked that she had just accidentally kissed the animal lover. She felt her face getting warmer, and knew that it was resulting in a deep red blush. She sucked in her lips, and blushed even more. Mikan, being the dense Mikan she was, didn't know why Hotaru was blushing so heavily and she didn't want to ask why in case Hotaru scolded her.

'_I… I can't believe I just kissed Nogi…_' Hotaru stayed where she was in case another accident like that happened again, and she whispered a little loudly, "Hey, Nogi, wake up. Wake up." Ruka's heavy eyelids lifted a little, and Hotaru noticed the hint of blue in his eyes. "That's it, Nogi, wake up. Come on, open your eyes." Ruka's eyes were completely open by then.

"Huh? Where are we?" Ruka sucked his lips. "And why do I taste something like mechanical oil on my mouth?"

Hotaru's blush could officially turn her Ice Queen status to a Blushing Queen status.

The next morning was a Saturday morning so the students of the Academy didn't have to worry about going to school and decided to stay in their respective rooms in case the AAO tried to kidnap them as well. In the hospital, Natsume lied on his bed wide awake. Narumi was explaining to the weak fire caster what had happened to Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka. Natsume, as predicted by Misaki, attempted to get out and rescue them, but he was immediately stopped by the doctors and nurses.

"What do you want me to do then?" Natsume asked weakly. "Just lie down here and wait for them to get killed?"

"_Iie, _Natsume-kun. Nothing of that sort. You need to stay here, in case the AAO gets you too. We'll be monitoring your condition, and decide later on whether or not you'll be fit to go and save them from the AAO's clutches. Until then, you'd better rest well," concluded Narumi.

"How can I when my best friend, that cheapskate Imai-san and _Ichigo Kara _are out there, captured by the organization that wants me instead? It's best if you just hand me over to them and save those three…"

"You can't expect us to do that, Hyuuga!" Jinno reprimanded. "The Academy wants to save Sakura, Imai and Nogi, and the Academy also wants to save you! How can we achieve that if you decide to sacrifice your freedom to the AAO in return for the other three students!"

"In the first place, the AAO wants me…" Natsume stopped to cough.

"You see, Natsume-kun? You're not even well enough yet! Just calm down and stay here, alright?" Narumi begged.

"Urgh, whatever. But if anything happens to them, you'll have me to answer to…" And Natsume coughed once more. He closed his crimson orbs, and focused his mind to sleep to calm down. Narumi and Jinno stayed behind to keep an eye on him and they sat down on the chairs. Natsume's back was facing them, so they had no idea that the fire caster was thinking of a way to settle the critical situation.

'_Hmph, so the AAO has made their move… They plan to use Ruka, Imai and Polka-dots as a threat so that I can go and work for them… But it doesn't seem so simple. If they had wanted me to join their dumb organization… they could've just kidnapped one of the three, and not all three of them at once… Even if it would be more effective, they should've figured out by now that Ruka and Polka-dots are the ones more important to me…_' Natsume stopped thinking for a while and shook his head a little. '_Ugh, why do I always feel like this towards that ugly Ichigo Kara? So, I guess that's why they took her too… Maybe they know that I like that Polka-dots a little…_

'_Enough thinking about that now. I have to think of a way to get those three out of the AAO's clutches… and fast. I have a feeling that the AAO not only wants me to join, but for those three to join as well… If that's the case, I can never forgive myself… So, what should I do? I can't go there myself, no thanks to some kooky teachers around. One way is for them to escape on their own, but it's not so easy. It'd take some time before they could escape, but I would've been taken away too by then… I need to think of a way to save them, and fast. Before the AAO gets to me, I have to rescue those three…_' Natsume's eyes opened quickly, his crimson orbs widening and his pupils dilated.

'_Wait, that's it!_'

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A/N: _Gomenasai _for a freakishly short chapter. This is as far as I can go for now for this chapter so I hope no one will mind. And I also apologise if Natsume was OOC in this chapter. _Gomenasai… _I tried not to make him OOC, but I guess he ended up being a little OOC in the end…

Next chapter: As the tangerine girl, the blackmailer and animal lover think of a way to escape from the AAO's clutches, Natsume has been recuperating quickly. But when Mikan's mother appears and tries to take Natsume, who will stop her? And what is Natsume's plan, by the way?

Please review lots. _Arigatou ne!_


	8. En Route to Freedom pt 1

Author's Note: Whew, it's been one busy weekend! I hope everyone's still okay with school or other important matter! I've got tons and tons of projects to do. In fact, I've gotten so many that I have to plan ahead in order to find time to write my stories! Anyway, less talk about my life, more talk about this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 8 – En Route to Freedom pt 1

Struggling to get the tightly tied rope off her, Mikan was desperately trying to literally bite the ropes off Hotaru so that Hotaru could untie both her and Ruka. However, it seemed that all of Mikan's efforts had gone to waste since the ropes were way too thick for her teeth. Sighing in defeat, Mikan tossed and turned and tossed and turned. Everyone was trying to think of a way to rescue themselves, but even Hotaru's bright ideas didn't work. They tried biting the ropes off, cutting the ropes off using a sharp edge of a corner but there wasn't any, and even tried rubbing the ropes off but obviously, that method didn't work.

"Argh, if this keeps up, we'll never be able to get out of this mess," whispered Mikan.

"Shut up, you idiot, and try to think of another way to get us out," whispered Hotaru back.

"Ah, Hotaru-chan, stop calling me an idiot," moaned Mikan quietly. "Why does everyone think I'm an idiot anyway?"

"Simple. You're way too simple-minded."

"What does that mean?"

Hotaru sighed, "See? You don't even know what 'simple-minded' means."

"Stop it, you two," Ruka cut in. "If we keep arguing like this, we'll never get out. Even if everyone else at the Academy is thinking of a way to save us, we still have to try and save ourselves first, but right now, I'm worried about Natsume…"

"Natsume? Why? What about him?" Mikan asked worriedly.

"You know that the AAO is after him, right?" Mikan nodded, and Ruka continued, "Well, if you think about it, the AAO wants to try and convince him to work for them, but they know that Natsume won't just listen to them that easily. So they must've figured out that Natsume has been trying so hard to avoid them is because he wants to protect us. Once they know about that, they must've kidnapped us to use us as a threat to make sure Natsume works for them. If we don't get out of here soon, Natsume will really be made to work for the AAO!"

"Eh?! That's really bad, then!" Mikan almost shouted out.

"Be quiet, baka!" reprimanded Hotaru.

"Oh oops! _G-gomenasai, _Hotaru-chan…" whispered Mikan. However, it was too late. _**Far **_too late…

"Heh? What do we have here?" Reo chirped from behind the group of three.

'_Oh great, here comes Reo…'_ thought Ruka worriedly.

"It looks like you three have been discussing your escape plans, am I right? Well, the looks on your faces say it all, so I assume that I'm right. As always, Naru-_senpai_ has always been the gullible type, no?" Reo teased. "Anyway, enough talk about the past. It seems that I'll have to take care of you three in case you manage to escape. But of course, it'll not be as easy as you think. I'm not the only AAO member here, you know. Aisu is here as well."

"Aisu?" Hotaru asked suspiciously.

"Oh right, you don't know. That so-called Nuko sensei of yours is actually a member of the AAO. Her real name is Aisu. I think you can deduce what her Alice is just from the name. It sounds just like the word 'ice', doesn't it? But it doesn't matter even if you know. Nothing good can come out of it for you in the end, so why don't you wait here for your little friend Natsume to join you?"

"How dare you use us to get Natsume! How horrible can you get?!" exclaimed Mikan.

"Oh, we dare alright. We AAO members are known to use whatever low-down, dirty method to get what we want. And it seems that we'll be able to get what we want after all."

"Why do you want Natsume so much, huh?" Ruka asked bravely. "Can't you just leave him alone? His Alice has already drained so much of his life! And yet you still want him on your side and let him fight for you?! You'll kill him!"

"We want that Hyuuga boy because his Alice is strong," a familiar cold voice spoke.

"Ah, Aisu, I see you're back from _**the **_place. How did it go with Boss?" Reo asked.

"There's nothing much to talk about. Now," Aisu edged closer to the threesome. "You lot must be wondering why we want Natsume so much, don't you? It's actually very easy to comprehend. Like I said just now, Hyuuga Natsume has a powerful Alice in his possession. He could destroy everything in his path if he wants to, if not for his life-sucking Alice. And anyway, the AAO could use a kid with that much power at his disposal. Imagine all the terror and panic we can cause just by recruiting Natsume!" Aisu exclaimed excitedly.

"_N-nani_?" Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka gasped under their breaths.

"But of course, we don't want to just have Natsume alone. The Boss decided that we should recruit three _**special **_people to accompany him throughout his life's journey as a new AAO member."

"U-uh, you c-can't possibly mean us, can you?" Mikan stammered, feeling very afraid.

"For an idiot, you're right, Mikan. I mean you three."

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Natsume was seen lying down on his bed, thinking about his new plan to rescue the brunette, the blackmailer and the animal lover. None of the teachers of the Academy was keeping a close eye on him since he had learnt to refrain himself from doing anything too rash – or so they thought. The teachers hadn't the faintest idea that Natsume was planning a rescue plot, and they definitely didn't know that Natsume himself was crucial to make the rescue happen…

"Hey, cut it out, you stupid fly. Your flying is irritating me," With that, Natsume burned the poor fly to crisps and brushed away the ashes of the dead fly. "I can't think properly when I'm irritated."

**CRASH!**

"Huh? What the heck was that?" Natsume asked to himself, looking around to find the source of the sudden crash, but he found nothing. And before he could lie back down on his hospital bed, a pair of icy cold hands grabbed him from his back and pushed him to the ground. The figure took out a towel stained with chloroform and attempted to knock out the fire caster. However…

**Ssssssssss……**

… went the cackling fire on the towel.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this?" the figure asked, completely appalled.

"It means that you aren't taking me anywhere, you spy of the AAO," stated Natsume.

"It looks like you've discerned my status. Not bad for a kid your age."

"Just shut up and get out of here before I burn you."

"Oh, I don't think I'll be leaving. Not before I take away that Alice of yours."

"Take… Take my Alice away?" Natsume withdrew his hands. "You can do that?"

"Of course I can. After all, I _**do **_have the Alice of stealing other Alices."

"Well, if you want my Alice so badly… why don't you try taking it from me?" Natsume called upon the fire to his hands and merged the fires together to form a fiery sword. '_That's something new…_' Natsume thought, feeling rather taken aback that he was able to form a fiery sword.

"Well, well, that's something extraordinary, even from you. This just makes me want to take your Alice away even more," hissed the figure. "But I advise you to watch out. You _**do **_know that if you make even the slightest mistake, your little friends will die by the AAO's hands."

"Of course I know. What makes you think I don't anyway?"

"Nothing. Now, let's duel." With that, the figure fished out an icy blue stone and gripped onto it. There was a bright flash, and as soon as it dimmed, Natsume noticed that the figure had an icy sword in her hands. It was an ice version of his own fire sword.

"En garde, you low-down spy." And Natsume charged towards her with great agility. Within the next few minutes, the whole of Natsume's ward had been destroyed, and all doctors and nurses who came to find out what was going on got knocked out due to the impact of the fight. The figure seemed quite astounded that Natsume, despite the fact that he was in a weakened state, was able to hold out for such a long time. Natsume, on the other hand, only focused on getting rid of the AAO spy sent to capture him. They fought for quite some time, and suffered equal amount of damage.

As Natsume gasped for oxygen, he got up and charged towards the figure once more. '_Finally, everything is going according to what I have planned…_'

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A/N: Whew, again! Oh boy, this is a record, finishing a whole chapter within less than 2 hours. Normally, I require _**at least **_two hours in order to finish writing a chapter. Even so, I'm not so surprised. I'm sure there are other fast writers out there. Anyway, there aren't going to be any Japanese translations here because I wrote out Japanese words that I've translated before, so in order to make sure that you have read thoroughly, I'll see whether or not you understand what translated Japanese words mean.

Don't think of me as a cruel and heartless girl, even though I'm aiming to act like one.

Next chapter: Just what _**is **_Natsume planning? How will he be able to rescue the others if he isn't able to rescue himself? Mikan soon learns about the truth about her mother and she, together with Hotaru and Ruka, will have to sneak their way past Reo and Aisu in order to find and warn Natsume. Who will get to the other side first? Find out in the next chapter 'En Route to Freedom pt 2'!

Oh yeah, if you're wondering about the scene with Natsume burning the fly to ashes, it was just for humor's sake. Come on, you got to admit, that was pretty funny, no?

Oh forget it. I'm just being lame.


	9. En Route to Freedom pt 2

Author's Note: OK, this may seem very sudden and all, but I have to admit; Updates will take longer than usual. Sure, you can tell me to update soon, however, I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. It's not that I am not updating; I am. However, updates won't be as frequent as before. Until it's the holidays, it'll be extremely tough for me to find time on my hands to update. But of course, when I _**do **_update, please review lots.

_Arigatou ne!_

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 9 – En Route to Freedom pt 2

"So," the figure hissed. "Are you done yet, fire boy?"

"Don't… pant… ever… pant… call me 'fire boy'… pant…" Natsume breathed heavily.

"I can call you whatever I like as soon as you surrender."

"Don't… push your… pant… luck, you low-down spy… pant…"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, shame on you, Hyuuga Natsume-san," the figure sighed. The figure put a hand to his or her chin and pondered. "Hmm… Well, if I recall correctly, I think that your Alice is the kind that shortens your lifespan, is it not? If I _**am **_remembering correctly, that means you can't hold out for much longer. How sad…"

"Shut it with the sarcasm!" Natsume yelled with a sudden burst of energy. "Tell me! Where are Ruka, Imai and Mikan?!"

"Eh? Did I just hear you call a girl by her name? Mikan, is it? Hm, the name sounds familiar…" The figure's eyes widened in horror, knowing who Mikan was, and he or she didn't want to realize that Mikan was at the Alice Academy. "Mikan… Mikan… Is her name Sakura Mikan?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?!" Natsume demanded.

The figure turned, facing his or her back towards Natsume. Just as Natsume was about to land a hit with his newfound power, which he called 'The Fire Sword', he managed to hear what the figure was saying to himself or herself. And what Natsume heard didn't ease his pain, not one bit.

"This is bad… Mikan has come into the picture… I had never intended for her to get involved… My poor Mikan… _**My poor daughter…**_" As soon as Natsume heard that come from the figure, the fire in his hands disintegrated and Natsume was left there to wonder what this world has come to.

Meanwhile, Hotaru and Ruka were trying hard not to listen and give in to Reo's manipulating voice while Mikan didn't need to since she wouldn't get affected anyway. Reo had been thoroughly annoyed with that, and he had tried many means and ways to get his Voice Pheromone to get into Hotaru and Ruka's heads, but Mikan kept on interrupting him with her Nullification Alice. Thus, Hotaru and Ruka were saved from Reo for a while, and even though Reo knew his Alice wasn't going to work, he still tried.

"**You cannot get out of here. You can't, and you won't. This place is impossible to escape from, and even if you manage to escape, we'll still remain here near the Academy and capture you without any hesitation. Why don't you give up and work for us**?" Reo asked, putting his Voice Pheromone at work.

"_Yamero, _baka!" Mikan reprimanded, and kicked Reo away. She got even closer to Hotaru and Ruka in order to use her Nullification Alice to protect them. "Don't you ever try to use your Alice on my friends! I'll just nullify it! Any more of this… this nonsense, and I'll be sure to use my Nullification Alice with all my power, even if I still can't control it!"

"Mikan…" Hotaru whispered, feeling a rush of emotions overwhelm her.

"Sakura…" Ruka whispered gratefully.

"Anything for my friends, right, Hotaru-chan? Ruka-pyon?" Mikan chirped childishly.

"Don't spoil the mood. You're still an idiot," Hotaru stated. Her rush of emotions seemed to have disappeared.

"Hey!" Mikan whined.

Before any of the three could respond, Reo laughed quite evilly and informed the threesome, "You're even more pathetic than I thought! Although I hadn't expected _**that **_useless speech from the Nullification girl… the AAO's plan will still be a success! Even if I don't manipulate you with my Alice, you will all still work for us, including Hyuuga Natsume!" 

"Are you threatening us?" Ruka shouted.

"Oh, no, not even close to that. What I'm saying is that I won't be the one who'll convince you to work for us. Oh no. It'll be Sakura Mikan's mother."

"HAH??!!" Mikan, Hotaru surprisingly and Ruka all exclaimed.

"_Watashi no okaa-san?_" Mikan muttered out in utter disbelief. "_Matte! _I thought my parents became stars in the sky, like what _Jii-chan _told me!"

"I think the old geezer was lying to you," Reo stated coldly.

"No way! _Jii-chan _would never lie to me!" Mikan screamed, tears forming in her eyes.

"Everyone will lie one day."

"No! It's not true! It _**can't **_be true!!"

"But it is. You, Sakura Mikan, still have a mother, and she is very much alive. _**Very **_much alive. Do you want to know where this beloved mother, who abandoned you when you were still a baby, is now?" Reo kneeled down and looked at the tied up trio into the eyes. "Right here with us, the AAO."

"No… It's not true… It can't be true…" Mikan whispered softly, letting the salty tears run down her face. Ruka and Hotaru couldn't do anything to comfort the crying tangerine girl, and they shouldn't, for if they did, Mikan would just cry even more.

What a mess that had turned out to be.

"_**You're **_Polka-dots' mother? That is very hard to believe, you lowdown spy of the AAO. Are you trying to mess with me?!" Natsume shouted.

Well, back to Natsume and the figure, I guess.

"No, I'm afraid not. Yes, it is true, I _**am **_Sakura Mikan's long-lost mother. Fancy that, huh. Mikan thought her mother had died a long time ago, yet here I am, alive and kicking. It's very ironic, yet it shouldn't be for me. After all, I _**did **_leave her with her grandfather to fend for her without saying a word. Her grandfather never knew what happened to me after all these years, so he can safely assume that I was long gone. Of course, I'm not," the figure revealed.

"That's the longest monologue in the history of the longest monologues, you lowdown spy."

"It's not a monologue!"

"Uh-huh, yeah right, and _**I'm **_Polka-dots' boyfriend," Natsume stated sarcastically, even though he was kind of hoping he was Mikan's boyfriend.

"That's not funny, you stubborn volcanic mule."

"It wasn't meant to be, you lowdown, dirty AAO spy."

"Would you stop calling me that?!"

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm not a lowdown, dirty AAO spy! I'm just an AAO spy! I'm not lowdown, and neither am I dirty!"

"But you're still a spy, and all spies are lowdown and use dirty ways to get what they want. Now, could you just shut up and tell me where Ruka, Imai and that idiot are?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot and will not divulge any information on that. However, there's something I want to ask you."

"Not a chance," Natsume growled, throwing a fire ball towards the figure that was thrown backwards due to the fiery impact. The figure got up, revealing badly burnt clothes, and even one corner of her shirt on fire.

"I'll still ask you, no matter how much you burn me. Tell me, what _**are **_you planning in that hot-tempered and ready-to-erupt mind of yours, you stubborn volcanic mule?"

"Planning?"

"Don't think I don't know. Remember, I have the Alice of stealing other people's Alices, and one of the Alices that I've stolen includes the Mind Reading Alice. However, it's not so easy to use it since I'm still not used to using the Mind Reading Alice, but I am able to read your mind, and it seems that you have a plan up your sleeve. Mind telling me what your big rescue plan is, Hyuuga?"

"Cut the crap. I won't tell you what I'm planning."

"Oh? And why not?"

"You'll inform your other crewmates, and then everything I've planned will go down the drains. When that happens, my only true friends will be gone forever…" Natsume whispered, looking up at the orange sky. The sun was setting, and the effect of it had added an exceptionally beautiful shade of orange and red to the sky, and – was that a tear in one of Natsume's eyes?

"_Sokka. _That's why you're worried. But what if I tell you that I don't intend to tell those other crewmates of mine?"

"I told you not to mess with me, you lowdown spy!" Natsume yelled, getting another fire ball ready.

"Whoa, easy there!" the figure shouted, standing up. "Really, I mean it! I won't tell the others!"

"And why should I trust you?"

"Because right now, I know that Mikan, my daughter, is still alive! I don't want her to end up in the hands of the AAO! You have to believe me! I left her in her grandfather's care, all alone and sad, only because I didn't want her to grow up to hate all Alices like me, and join the AAO!"

"Are you telling me the truth, spy?"

"I swear, of anything I've said is a lie, may the flames of your fiery hot intense Fire Alice burn and roast me alive and become your favourite brand of AAO Spy Marshmallows," the figure swore. Natsume sweat dropped.

"O… kay… I didn't expect _**that**_."

"So will you please tell me what your plan is now? I can help you save my daughter and those other friends of yours!"

"…" Natsume looked up at the sky once more, and saw a cloud that looked like Mikan float by. He turned back to look at the figure and said, "Fine. You have my trust. But I warn you now, if you _**ever **_turn your back against me, I will personally roast you alive. Minus the favourite brand of marshmallows, though."

"_Arigatou…_ So will you tell me now?"

"… Alright. Here's the plan…"

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A/N: And chapter done! What's with those glares? Were you expecting more? Or were you expecting to know what Natsume was planning? Oh well, whatever it is, I won't be telling you yet. This is for suspense effect. (laughs evilly)

OK, just kidding.

Next chapter: Natsume and Mikan's mother work together to rescue Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka. But when they manage to knock everyone in the AAO out, Mikan is totally unwilling to go along with her mother, thinking that her entire life had been ruined by her mother. Will a certain fire demon child convince the brunette that her mother no longer means any harm? Find out in the next chapter 'The Soothing Fire'!

_Yamero: Stop__　やめろ_

_Watashi no okaa-san: My mother__　わたし　の　おかあさん_


	10. The Soothing Fire

Author's Note: Hi! I am back! I have been really busy lately, what with tests and assignments and projects and all… Oh yes, if you've read my profile, you should expect these two new 'guests' coming…

Shadow: Oh, hi. Now, bye.

Aritia: _Hajimemashite!!_ Don't mind Shadow-chan; she's always like this.

These two love fighting a lot. So just don't make Shadow angry, and don't make Aritia hyper. That's all I can say about my 'split personalities'. Anyway, we are about to reach the end of this fic very soon. Don't flood me with 'Why?' questions, because I have this feeling that this fic has to end sometime soon. You see, the main point is the AAO, Persona, Natsume and Mikan, and Hotaru and Ruka. Once everything about these is done, well, the fic is done. And I am almost done with everything.

Before I begin, let me just inform you people that this chapter is a dedication to Mother's Day, because of the relationship between Mikan and her mother, so I have decided to make this chapter a dedication to Mother's Day. Please enjoy, and may all mothers in this world have a wonderful and happy Mother's Day 2007.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 10 – The Soothing Fire

**BANG! CRASH! BANG!**

**Ssssssssssss………**

**BOOM! CRASH! BOOM!**

**Ssssssssssss………**

"…"

"…"

"… Oi, Polka-dots' mother…"

"… Yeah? What? Natsume?"

"You're… not such a bad fighter, you know."

"Thanks for the compliment. _**You're **_not too bad yourself, punk."

"Hn."

"I take that as a 'Thank you'."

"I never say 'thank you' to a lowdown, AAO spy."

"Quit harping on that, and let's get going."

Mikan's mother, holding a pistol, aimed it down to the ground and tip-toed quickly towards the warehouse where Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka were. Natsume, still wearing his hospital clothes, followed suit, letting his arms fling to his sides. Smoke could be seen coming from his hands, and even small and docile flames on his fingers. He blew on them, and they went out. Mikan's mother, who went by the name Yuka, aimed her pistol to the door of the warehouse, and motioned Natsume to burn down the door.

"Why can't you just open it yourself?" Natsume asked, folding his arms.

"Well, the door is locked, duh. Now, hurry up before those knocked out guys wake up suddenly."

"Fine, lowdown spy."

"Would you quit harping on that?!"

Natsume raised his hands and they soon went up in flames. He merged the fires on both hands together, forming one big fireball on his right hand. He then stood in a baseball striker pose, and tossed the fireball at the door. The door went up in flames and exploded, causing the remains of the door to begin using its fiery jaws to chomp on the warehouse.

"Let's go before the whole place explodes, lowdown AAO spy," stated Natsume coolly.

"I told you to quit harping on that, you stubborn volcanic mule."

Just as they were about to head for the flaming entrance, a few armed men appeared there, wearing bulletproof vests and sunglasses. They aimed their guns at Yuka and Natsume, ready to fire the shots. Yuka tried aiming for their unprotected legs, but those men were highly trained; they managed to block her shots by shooting at the incoming bullets accurately. Yuka and Natsume were quite taken aback by their great accuracy, but soon recovered from the shock. Yuka tried aiming for their heads as the last resort, but it didn't work either. She told Natsume to cover for her so that she'd have enough time to use her Alice.

Natsume stood in a protective stance, letting his hands gather up the fire energy. He threw small fireballs at the unidentified men, but those men still protected themselves by evading all of Natsume's thrown fiery attacks. Natsume cursed under his breath, and then tossed more fireballs at them. Yet they still dodged. Just as Natsume was about to use his newfound Fire Sword, an excruciating pain soon overwhelmed him. Groaning a little, he gripped onto his chest, and was breathing heavily. That gave the men a chance to strike.

They aimed…

… and they…

**PIANG!**

Yuka was standing in front of the suffering fire child, holding an ice sword in her hands. She had used the Ice Alice which she had possibly stolen from Aisu before she went to get Natsume in the hospital. The unidentified men prepared to shoot when Yuka blocked their shots once more using her ice sword. The sword was strong; it withstood so many bullets and there were barely any scratches on it. Yuka smirked a little, and used another Alice she stole, which was the Electrical Alice. Her opponents were literally shocked and soon laid on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Did you… pant… steal that Alice… pant… from Jin-Jin?" gasped Natsume, getting up slowly.

"No, I stole it from someone else in the AAO, _**just in case**_." With that, Yuka used another Alice she stole, which was the Wind Alice, and blew all of the fallen men of the AAO away. The men that were awake screamed in terror like 5-year-old girls screaming when they were on a rollercoaster ride. Yuka giggled in delight, while Natsume was stifling his laughter, for once. "Hmm… They look like a bunch of UFM."

"… Which means…?"

"Unidentified Flying Men." While Yuka began giggling away, Natsume covered his mouth to stifle the laughter, and cleared his throat to regain his usual cool composure.

"Oi, shouldn't we get going now, lowdown spy?"

"Okay, we will – provided that you stop calling me that."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"MOU!!"

"Hmph, you and Polka-dots really are alike."

"Whatever, Hyuuga."

As Yuka and Natsume ran into the warehouse, they 'met up' with other men of the AAO and easily knocked them out. They ran and ran till they reached the end, where they saw Reo and Aisu standing there, looking at the kidnapped Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka with malicious eyes. They were grinning from ear to ear, obviously having fun in torturing the threesome, and obviously thinking that their plan was a hundred percent foolproof.

Well, their arrogance would certainly be their undoing.

"Reo! Aisu!" Yuka shouted out, gaining attention from everybody. Reo and Aisu turned to face her and shock was written all over their faces. Mikan seemed a little confused, while Hotaru and Ruka seemed indifferent.

"Y-Yuka? What are you doing with our prey?" Aisu asked.

"He's _**your **_prey, not _**our **_prey. And anyway, I've joined forces with him only because I want to rescue my daughter and her friends!"

"Your daughter?" Reo stole a glance at Mikan, smirked smugly and turned back to face Yuka. "Ohh… You mean that Sakura Mikan here, right?"

"Eh?!" Mikan gasped. "T-that's… That's my mom?!"

"Yeah, that's your mom. The mother who abandoned you when you were a baby."

"Shut up, Reo!" shouted Yuka. "There was no need for you to kidnap those children! And besides, has it ever occurred to you that once you kidnap them, you lose a 'faithful' member of the AAO?!"

"Huh? You mean you went over to the good side because we kidnapped your daughter?" Aisu laughed and continued, "Yuka, Yuka, Yuka…" she taunted. "Ever so foolish Yuka… What makes you think you can stop us and get away with this?"

"Simple." It was Yuka's turn to smile. "Why not try using your Alice, Aisu? I _**dare **_you to."

Aisu's eyes widened in horror. "No way… Don't tell me… Don't tell me that you've _**stolen **_my Ice Alice?!"

"Bingo."

"Why?!"

"It was just in case this ever happened. Now, Aisu, what can you do without your precious Alice? Hmm? I figured that you were way too dependent on your Alice; that's why you thought that you have the easy way out. Even if Reo manages to manipulate us with his Voice Pheromone, there's no way you can get out of this mess, because you'd want your Alice back without me dying, and of course, the boss would want a traitor dead. So, there's no way out."

'_Wow, this lowdown spy is sort of intimidating…_' thought Natsume, watching the entire scene like watching a movie.

"Now, Hyuuga! Get them out of here!" Yuka ordered.

"Oi, don't start ordering people around, you lowdown spy."

"First, just get them out of here! Second, QUIT HARPING ON THAT!"

Natsume rushed over to the still tied up Mikan first, and began burning her ropes. Reo and Aisu took a step forward to try and stop him, but Yuka blocked them with an ice wall she created using the stolen Ice Alice. Her former allies shot her a death glare, but she just smirked it off. "Pretty ironic, no? That your Alice is turning its back on you, Aisu?" Yuka taunted, giving them a wink. Reo and Aisu scowled under their breaths.

"Hang on, idiot. I'm getting you, Ruka and the bothersome Imai out of here," assured Natsume, burning through the ropes of Ruka and Hotaru next. Mikan seemed a little unsure whether or not to reply, for she was wondering if she should go with her mother or not. She was still suspecting her mother's actions… And Natsume realized that the idiot was too quiet. _**Way **_too quiet. "Hey, moron, why aren't you answering?"

"…"

"Moron?"

"…"

"Polka-dots?"

"…"

"_Ichigo Kara?_"

"…"

"_Kiiroi Hana Kara?_"

"…"

"Mikan?"

That finally got Mikan's attention, as well as Hotaru's and Ruka's. Natsume had called Mikan by her first name; no insults, no teasing, no silly names, nothing bad. He had truly called her by her first name, loudly and clearly. Mikan began blushing very heavily, and felt her heart pounding. It felt like as if her heart was beating in her throat and in her brain at the same time. "Y-y-y-y-y-yeah, Na-Natsume?"

"You're acting very quiet… And you're stammering."

"W-w-well… i-it's just… You c-c-called me b-by m-my first name…"

Natsume felt a burning sensation creep up on his face, and he didn't hide it this time round. "And so? It's about time I call you by your first name anyway… Oh, forget it, I'm not going to explain myself to an idiot like you right now. I have to get you out of here first."

"But that's just it, Natsume… I… I don't know if I want to get out."

The eyes of Hotaru, Ruka, Yuka and Natsume all widened in shock, not believing what they all just heard. "What did you say, baka?"

"Well… The thing is… I don't think I want to go out with my mother yet…"

"Why not, Mikan?" Yuka asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"Because… you _**did **_abandon me… And I never knew that my mother had been alive all this time… A-and… I'm not sure if I want a mother right now…"

That nearly got Yuka crying. And it was that last bit that made Yuka's heart sink like the Titanic…

"Oi, idiot!" Natsume scolded. "You shouldn't say that about your mother! No matter what she had done to you, she's still your mother!"

"_D-demo…_ I'm used to not having a mother and a father… I've always lived with my _Jii-chan_ and now suddenly, a mother appears before me. It's just too quick, Natsume… I don't want a mother just yet… So I…"

"So what? You idiot! Just because of that reason doesn't mean you can stay here till you're ready! What's wrong with escaping with her?"

"Well… I don't know…"

"There, you got your answer. Now, shut up and let's get going."

"B-but, Natsume, I don't feel easy with her…"

"Why not? Because she suddenly appeared before you? Is that it? I've already explained to you, baka! Whatever she did to you in the past doesn't matter right now! You can still settle other personal matters after all of this is over! And… why don't you think of it in a different angle?"

"Huh?"

"Well…" Natsume looked down, letting his bangs cover the hurt in his eyes. "Think about it, Mikan… At least you still have a mother…"

"Natsume…" Mikan spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Natsume…" whispered Ruka.

"Hyuuga…" both Yuka and Hotaru muttered in sympathy.

"Foolish fire demon…" muttered Reo and Aisu under their breaths. Though the children didn't manage to hear it, Yuka did, and she knocked them out with a blast of stolen Alices.

"Natsume… I-I'm sorry, I didn't know that you…"

Mikan was cut off by Natsume. "Hey, don't harp on it, idiot. Just count yourself lucky that you still have a mother who is alive. Learn how to cherish her, Mikan."

"… O… Okay…"

Natsume carried Mikan bridal style, considering the fact that she didn't have enough blood circulation in her body as she had been tied up for way too long, and had no strength to walk. Ruka, on the other hand, had enough strength to carry Hotaru bridal style as well. The actions by the boys caused the girls to blush like crazy, as well as bringing smiles to their faces. Just by looking at the smiling face of her daughter made Yuka smile as well, and they headed off back to the Academy… together.

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A/N: Aww… I personally like this chapter a whole lot! What do you think? Is it good enough to be a Mother's Day dedication? Oh, and by the way, about the part where Yuka commented on the UFM, I got that idea from Loonatics Unleashed episode 'Family Business', when at the beginning, the Loonatics were heading off to the pizza place where the villain was causing trouble. Some pizzas came flying towards them, and Ace said, "Looks like an UFP: Unidentified Flying Pizza."

It struck me funny, and I decided to add that funny bit to this part of the chapter, except that I changed 'Unidentified Flying Pizza' to 'Unidentified Flying Men', considering the fact that the men of the AAO were unidentified other than the fact that they are part of the AAO, and that they were sent flying by Yuka.

It still strikes me funny.

Next chapter: Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka are safe and sound, and the AAO is never heard of again. It looks like peace has returned to the Academy… or has it? Mikan still has some issues to settle with her mother, as well as some questions about her father. Will Mikan get the answers to her past that she needs? And… Huh? Natsume? What's wrong? You have to be hospitalized… again?! And what?! Natsume's Alice is... Find out what happens in the next chapter 'Mikan's Past, and Her Fiery Future'!

Aritia: Waaaaaahhhh!!! NATSUME'S GOING TO DIE!!

Shadow: No one says he's going to die, you idiotic moronic baka.

Me: Yeah, Aritia, chill. I'm not so cruel to make Natsume die.

Aritia: Really? That's good news!! Thanks for not letting him die, Umbreon-Rawks!

Me: No problem. Well, readers, as you can see, Natsume won't die. Don't worry, but he _**will **_suffer for a while. So be prepared to watch more romance coming up.

_Hajimemashite: It's a pleasure to meet you__　はじめまして_


	11. Mikan's Past, and Her Fiery Future

Author's Note: Whew, I am almost done with this fic. After this fic, I'm going to concentrate on my other major fic **Life in Orre, Past or Present**.

Shadow: Umbreon-Rawks can never concentrate _**totally **_on just one major fic at a time.

Aritia: Shadow, you're so mean!

Shadow: I like mean.

Aritia: I hate mean! Take this, you meanie! (jumps onto Shadow and they get into a cloud fight)

I, uh, should stop them from killing each other now…

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 11 – Mikan's Past, and Her Fiery Future

_Dear Ojii-chan, there's been so many things happening in the Alice Academy recently. Like me, Hotaru-chan and Ruka-pyon getting kidnapped by some bad guys from the Anti-Alice Organisation, and me finding my real mother. Did you know her, Jii-chan? Did she really leave me with you and went away, seemingly never to return for me? What really happened, Jii-chan? I've found my mother, but what happened to my father? Did he become a star in the sky or is he still alive? It's so confusing, Jii-chan. I don't know what to do._

Holding onto her letter to her grandfather tightly, Mikan began thinking about the day's events. She, Hotaru and Ruka were still trapped in that warehouse hours ago, but then Mikan's mother Yuka and Natsume came along and stopped Reo and Aisu. Mikan didn't want to leave at first because she didn't want to return to the Academy with her mother, but Natsume managed to convince her otherwise. She finally agreed to return to the Academy with them. They had walked back to the Academy, with Natsume carrying Mikan and Ruka carrying Hotaru.

As Mikan remembered that particular happening, something warm and fuzzy crept onto her cheeks. She then remembered Natsume 'invading' her one-star bedroom and placed her on her bed before going back to his special-star bedroom himself. Then she proceeded to write a letter to her grandfather, and here we are: Mikan was still confused about her past.

Sighing, Mikan sealed the letter in the envelope and placed a stamp on it. She put the letter away in her drawer, hoping to have a chance to hand it to Narumi sensei to have the letter sent to her grandfather. Mikan then switched off the lights and went to sleep. Yuka, however, was watching her daughter sleep soundly. Yuka was standing on a tree branch, watching Mikan. She sighed, knowing well that her daughter would be flooding her with questions the next time they meet.

Morning arrived quickly, and everyone woke up with a bright smile on their faces other than Natsume of course. The other students of the Academy were relieved and happy that Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka had returned to the Academy safely, even Hotaru's brother and Sumire's brother. Well, everyone was happy, but the usually cheerful Mikan was not. It was a Saturday so there were no classes for them. They went down for breakfast, and it was there that they noticed that Mikan wasn't being her cheerful self.

Mikan took a seat next to Hotaru and Yuu, and waited for her one-star breakfast to arrive. Hotaru and Yuu, however, had already gotten their three-star breakfasts and they were already beginning to eat their breakfast feast, until they noticed that Mikan wasn't happy. Hotaru and Yuu put down their spoons and looked at Mikan with a worried look on their faces. Mikan was busy looking down at her feet to even notice that her three-star friends were staring at her worriedly.

"Ne, Mikan…" Mikan heard Hotaru begin saying.

"Yes, Hotaru-chan?" Mikan muttered out, still looking at her feet.

"You're not being your usual idiotic happy self today. Is something the matter?"

Mikan shook her head, _**still **_looking at her feet. "No, Hotaru-chan. Nothing's wrong."

"Mikan-chan," Yuu began. "Imai-san is becoming very worried for you. And so am I! Please, Mikan-chan, tell us. What's the matter?"

"And I want the truth, Mikan. I know you're a terrible liar," Hotaru continued, holding out her baka gun.

"Okay…" Mikan sighed, still not looking up. "I'm… still thinking about my mother."

"That's it? Your mother?" Yuu asked, feeling a little confused.

"I suppose you haven't heard about it yet, Yuu. Last night, Mikan's mother and Hyuuga teamed up to rescue us. You only heard that we've returned safely, but you haven't heard about who saved us, right?" explained Hotaru.

"That seems to explain everything, but why are you so upset about your mother, Mikan?"

"Because… well, I'm not so sure whether or not I should recognize her as my mom… and…" Before Mikan could continue, there was a loud knock on the door. The mechanical waitress went over to open the door.

"Yes? Who are you looking for, madam?" the mechanical waitress asked.

"May I speak to Sakura Mikan?" the woman asked.

"Eh?" Mikan looked at the entrance of the door. "M-mom?"

**Later on…**

"I, uh, suppose that you want to learn more about your past, right Mikan?" Yuka asked, a little uneasily.

"_H-hai… _I want to know what really happened," replied Mikan.

"Then I'll tell you what happened, every single thing that happened."

"Y-you will? But why? I thought you are with the AAO? Why are you helping me with my past?"

"Who else can you turn to, Mikan? I am your mother, the only one who knows everything that happened, other than Narumi."

"N-narumi sensei?!"

"Yes, I knew you'd be surprised to hear that he knew everything as well."

"T-then if he knows that you've become part of the AAO, why did he want to take care of me so much?"

"Because I asked him to. I was worried that someday you'd end up here at the Academy, so I wanted Narumi to help take good care of you, Mikan."

"_Sokka…_"

"Now, I'll tell you everything that happened, my dear Mikan. It all started about 10 years ago. I was still studying at this Academy as a college student. I had a few friends, like Narumi and Reo. Reo was still a middle school student, however, and Narumi was a college student like me. We were all good friends, and we got along very well. However, while I knew all along that Narumi had a crush on me, I had a crush on my homeroom teacher. He had a Nullification Alice, like you, Mikan."

"He did?"

"Yeah. Of course, teacher-student love relationships aren't allowed in this Academy. I don't know how, but the Academy's higher-ups had already gotten word of my relationship with my teacher. You see, my teacher also liked me as much as I liked him. So, the Academy's higher-ups sent some people to literally get rid of us. They managed to kill him."

"Th-that's so sad…"

"Yes, it was very tragic. However, something enlightened me, and it was the fact that… I had his child."

"Huh? Had his child? You mean me? That homeroom teacher of yours is my father?!"

"Mm-hm. And you can bet that I was glad that I was carrying our flesh and blood. It turned out that you had his Nullification Alice, Mikan. But I began to hate the Academy for killing your father, so I decided to join the AAO in bringing down the Academy as revenge for the cause of your father's death. I didn't want you to know about the truth, so I handed you over to your grandfather who agreed to look after you. I'm sorry that I never came back for you, Mikan. I couldn't, not with Reo and the other AAO members watching me. I'm sorry…"

"No, no! It's okay, Mom! Really!" Mikan exclaimed, smiling at last. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes, and they dripped down her face. "I'm so glad that I've learnt all about the truth! How can I be mad at you? In fact, I should be thanking you for telling me now! I'm so happy, Mom! I'll recognize you as my real mother now. Nothing bad will ever happen between us again, Mom."

"Oh, Mikan…" And Yuka and Mikan hugged each other as mother and daughter. Tears streamed down their rosy cheeks, and they smiled at each other warmly. The wind blew in their faces, causing both of their hazelnut hair to fly around wildly. Their warm embracing scene remained there for hours, and could've remained there for a longer time, but not until…

"Sakura-san! Sakura-san!!!" Ruka called out, running towards Yuka and Mikan. His rabbit was clinging onto his arm as Ruka ran quickly. He was running so quickly that his rabbit was shedding tears of fear! "Sakura-san! Oh, I've finally found you!"

"Ruka-pyon?" Mikan let go of her mother's grasp and rushed towards Ruka. "What's wrong, Ruka-pyon? Why are you in such a hurry to find me?"

"There's… there's trouble, Sakura-san…" Ruka replied grimly.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble? The AAO?!"

"No, something worse!"

"Something… worse?"

"Yes, something worse than the AAO… And it concerns a life, Sakura-san… Natsume…"

"Natsume?!" Mikan grabbed Ruka's collar, tugging onto him, feeling very panicked. "What's wrong with Natsume-kun?! Huh?! Tell me, Ruka-pyon!"

"Natsume… Natsume is… Natsume is hospitalized, Sakura-san…"

"Again?! _Doshite?!_"

"_Wakarimasen, _Sakura-san! Natsume and I were walking around the Academy like we always do, when suddenly he collapsed! I didn't know what to do other than bring him to the hospital and inform the sensei! The doctor then said that Natsume had to be hospitalized. I don't know anything else… That was all the doctor said… And while the doctor was doing a thorough check-up for Natsume, I was in the room, and I heard Natsume keep on calling for you, Sakura-san…"

"M-me?"

"Yeah… So I thought that since he wanted to see you so badly, I wanted to look for you…"

"B-bring me there, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan turned to face Yuka. "Mom, let's go!"

"_Hai! Wakarimashita!_"

It was like as if time had stopped and allowed only Mikan, Yuka and Ruka to run over to the hospital to visit Natsume and learn about his condition. They managed to get there in no time, and Mikan ran over to a random doctor and ask about Natsume's condition. The doctor was coincidentally the doctor in charge of Natsume at the moment, and requested that Mikan, Yuka and Ruka to follow him to his office and talk there.

"Doctor, tell me, is my best friend in danger?" Ruka asked worriedly.

"I'm afraid so, young man," the doctor replied grimly.

"What's wrong with Natsume?!" Mikan cried.

"Well… his Alice… You know… that his Alice is of the unlimited type, correct? And you know that every time he uses his Alice, his lifespan will get shortened… I told him _**not **_to use his Alice as and when he feels like it because of this reason. However, I think that he didn't listen to me, as he usually does, and must have overused his Alice…"

"Overused? As in, he used too much of his Alice?" Yuka asked, a little guiltily.

"Yes. I estimated that he had used his Alice last night and-."

"Last night?!" Mikan cut him off. "That's when he rescued us from the AAO! He must've used his Alice to save us! Oh no, we were the cause of his suffering…"

"He used his Alice to…?" the doctor hit the table in realization. "That must be it! He was concerned for his friends' safety so he used his Alice to rescue them. So he didn't disobey me… He just wanted to save his friends… Alright, then. Maybe there is a way to save him…"

"There is? Tell us, please!" Mikan cried.

"Okay, okay, settle down! First, I need to inform you on Hyuuga Natsume's ailment he is suffering right now. Okay, Natsume's Alice is of the unlimited type, that's the first thing that you should know about. Second, Natsume has overused his Alice so his Alice has sucked too much of his life force, thus there is an estimate that he would not live beyond, say, twenty?"

"Twenty?!"

"Yes, but you shouldn't worry too much. It _**is **_just an estimate. Either he lives beyond twenty, or he dies before twenty. It's got to be one of these two outcomes, but there is a 99 percent chance that Natsume lives beyond twenty, so don't worry too much. Next, because he has overused his Alice, Natsume has to make many trips to the hospital. It helps by letting him stay in the hospital, but if he uses his Alice again after that, the consequences would be dire. Right now, Natsume hasn't even fully recovered from his last relapse, and he has already overused his Alice so he has to stay hospitalized for an even longer period of time. So he has to stay in the hospital for now, and we'll examine his condition. But there is something bad that will happen to him… I think I should leave that as last."

"That… is one long and hard to comprehend explanation…" admitted Mikan.

"Ahem… Yes, yes, doctors are usually hard to understand, what with the big medical terms and all, but I didn't even use many medical terms."

"… You didn't?"

"I don't think I used too many. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, there will be two outcomes for Hyuuga Natsume, one good and one bad. It's either Natsume lives till a human's average lifespan, miraculously, or he dies early and expectedly. And from what I can see… there is a higher chance of him dying early…"

"_NANI?!_" Mikan, Yuka and Ruka shouted.

"Don't shout so loudly. I'll get deaf." the threesome kept quiet, giving the doctor a chance to continue, "Anyway, there's a way to prevent that from happening. You see, all Alices look different form each other, correct? Like, for example, Natsume's Fire Alice is different from Jinno's Electrical Alice, since Natsume summons fire while Jinno summons electricity. However, if you think about it, all Alices are actually from the same source, thus they are all similar in terms of the source they came from. It is the mind. Think about all of the Alices you've seen or heard of so far. In order to use them, you have to concentrate your mind to summon it. Even if the Alices are the Pheromone Alices, you still have to focus your mind on using the Alices. Am I not wrong?"

"Uh… Well, no, not really. I don't know."

"You'll figure it out in the end anyway. Well, this theory applies to all Alice users, including Natsume. His Fire Alice has to be summoned when he concentrates on it, right? So if his mind is concentrated on using his Alice to rescue his friends, then his Alice would be activated and it would be able to be used by him. Think about it. He wanted to save you so badly he overused his Alice without even knowing it. And since he's in a semi-conscious state right now, that state is what I call the effect of the cause, the cause being Natsume wanting to rescue his friends. And to change an effect, you have to change the cause."

"So… are you implying that we have to travel back in time to prevent the cause form happening?" Yuka asked, trying to digest all of the information.

"That is one alternative. The other way is something psychological. If Natsume's mind is at ease, then his condition would improve. You see, the cause of his condition is his way of thinking. Each time he uses his Alice, his mind can never stop thinking about the consequences of using his dangerous Alice. He is usually uneasy when it comes to using his Alice, even though it appears that he uses it without any hesitation. If his mind can be eased now, there's a chance that he'll survive this ordeal."

"So… we have to comfort him or counsel him or whatever of that sort to prevent him from dying?"

"Something like that. I have experimented my theory on some others before, and they managed to survive, but it was at a price…"

"What? What price?" Ruka asked.

"They all lost their Alices, and eventually still lost their lives."

Deathly silence crept into the doctor's office. It was so quiet that one could hear Mikan's racing heartbeat literally. Everyone's attention was at the tangerine girl whose heart was beating quickly and worriedly. She was so worried for Natsume. For once, she was thinking deeply about the matter. '_If I don't confess to him that I like him – which is true – then Natsume-kun will die! On the other hand, if I tell him that I like him, maybe he'll live… But then, he may lose his Alice… Then he can't stay at the Academy anymore… When that happens, everyone will be depressed and Ruka-pyon will be doubly depressed… But if Natsume-kun dies, everyone will be even more and more depressed that not even I can cheer them up… In fact, I might even be the most depressed out of all of them… What should I do? Should Natsume die early or should he lose his Alice? No matter which outcome it is, Natsume's life is still in danger… Narumi sensei told me that if an Alice user loses his Alice, that Alice user will die… I know Mom can steal other's Alices, but the Alice users never died… Does that mean that Mom's Alice doesn't totally take away the Alices she steals?_'

That was when an idea struck the brunette, and that was also when Natsume could be saved.

"Mom! Ruka-pyon! I have an idea! I know how we can save Natsume!"

"How?!" both Yuka and Ruka exclaimed at the same time.

"Mom, you can steal other people's Alices, right? The Alice users didn't die even though their Alices had been stolen, right? Is it because that one small part of their Alices still remains within them?"

"Well, let's see… True, I can steal the Alices of others… And convert them into Alice stones… Not only that, but I also have the ability to return the Alices to their original owners after I've had my fun with the Alices… Yeah, the Alice users still live, but none of their Alice traits remains. Why?"

"But Mom, there is one part, and only one part, of the Alices that still remains! And that is the fact that the Alices exist! Even though they lose their Alices to you, you still have the power to return them to them, so they still live, knowing that they can still get their Alices back! But for those who lose their Alices through the doctor's method, their minds have stopped accepting the fact that they have Alices, so they no longer treat themselves as Alice users so they lose their Alices, and when that happens, they will no longer get them back so they eventually die!"

"So! You're saying that if I…?"

"Yes, Mom! I want you to take Natsume's Alice away from him! When that is done, Natsume can still live through the doctor's method and even if he doesn't accept the fact that he has an Alice, he can't die because you'd still have his Alice! If you return his Alice to him in the end, Natsume can still live even with his Alice back! So, Mom, let's give it a shot! It's the only way left, right?"

"True… true…" Ruka muttered under his breath. He gave Mikan a small hug and let go after a while. "_Arigatou, _Sakura-san."

"_I-iie, doitashimashite, _Ruka-pyon."

"So, my daughter," Yuka began. "What do I do now?"

"Simple, Mother! Take Natsume-kun's Alice away from him!"

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A/N: I am almost done with this fic! Now I think everyone knows why I wanted Mikan's mother to appear in this story. Well, in order to save Natsume's life, Yuka's Alice is needed, so I have decided to include Yuka in this story. And all that bunch of information about the mind being the Alices' power source and everything else… It's all made up by me.

Seriously, it's all made up by me. I don't know if anyone else agrees or disagrees with my theory. And neither do I know if anyone else has the same theory as I do. I just thought about it and it popped in my head, seriously.

Next chapter: The love between Hyuuga Natsume and Sakura Mikan is finally put to the test when Mikan has to save Natsume's life! Will Natsume be able to survive the ordeal and live till the average human's lifespan? Will Mikan's method of saving Natsume work? And most importantly, will those two lovebirds confess? How about Ruka and Hotaru? Find out what happens in the next chapter 'Test of Love'!

Shadow: Oh, _**fi-na-lly! **_I've been waiting for such a damn long time just so that those people can confess their feelings!

Aritia: Shadow, stop your vulgarities!

Shadow: 'Damn' isn't even a vulgar word!

Aritia: I don't care! It's still mean!

Shadow: Tch, whatever, you goody-two-shoes!

Aritia: Why, you…!

Me: I'd better stop them like, _**right now**_. Hey! Stop it, you two!

Shadow + Aritia: Don't yell at us! Or do you want to have a taste of our powers?!

Me: 0 . 0lll

_Doshite: Why?__　どして_

_Wakarimasen: I don't know__　わかりません_

_Wakarimashita: I've understood__　わかりました_

_Iie, doitashimashite: Your welcome__　いいえ、どういたしまして_


	12. Test of Love

Author's Note: Pant… pant… Hiya, people! I'm back with another installment! I'm so sorry to keep everyone waiting, especially since I'm busy with **Life in Orre, Past or Present**! It's finally the school holidays! Yay! But I have tons of activities coming up… waaaahhhh… I wanna update! No fair… It's the holidays so why does school want to give us review papers to do?! No fair! I wanna update… Oh well, I can't complain. It's not like I can do anything about it other than let it cause my hatred for education to grow and grow.

Aritia: Yeah, Umbreon-Rawks is really stressed out, even in the holidays! She's busy with those school papers, CCA and camps. Please be nice to her and review! She's going through all this trouble just so that she can update! Please review!

Shadow: Or, you can choose to ignore Aritia. And deep-fry her for me to snack on. It _**has **_been some time since I have eaten idiots for meals.

Aritia: Shadow…! Why you…!

Me: Just… do the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 12 – Test of Love

"There…" Yuka muttered out, standing up from her seat. She looked at her right hand, sighed and put her hands in her pockets. "It's done."

Mikan glanced over at the unconscious fire caster, or rather, he _**used **_to be one. Mikan held onto Natsume's hand, while Ruka stood next to her, still patting his favourite bunny. Mikan pulled Natsume's hand to her face, and rubbed her cheek against it, trying to feel for the familiar fiery warmth she always felt when she touched him. However, the familiar fiery warmth could no longer be felt nor enjoyed by the tangerine brunette. Instead, she felt an unfamiliar icy coldness from the hand, and didn't feel comfortable about it. She stopped what she was doing, and put Natsume's hand back on the hospital bed. Tears began forming at the corner of her eyes, but she brushed them away with the back of her hand. After that, she smiled her trademark smile, and looked at her mother. "He'll be okay, right Mom?"

Yuka, quite taken aback that her daughter was still in the mood to smile, responded, "Yes, according to what you've said just now…"

"That's good to hear… I really hope that what I'm doing is right…" Mikan looked back down at Natsume, and couldn't help but touch his face. "It's not so nice to feel something so cold from him… I guess it's because he lost his Alice, right?"

"Yes, I… suppose so, Mikan." Yuka stole a glance at the fiery red Alice stone in her pocket. That certain red Alice stone contained the Fire Alice which originally belonged to Natsume. In Yuka's pocket, she could see that the Alice stone was blinking with a shade of dangerous red, and was beginning to burn away parts of her pocket. "Um, Mikan, I can sense that the Alice stone wants to go back to its original owner, so can you excuse me for a while? At least… before this thing burns away my pocket?"

"Oh, okay, Mom."

With that, Yuka rushed out of the room, and began drenching her pocket with tap water, causing the fire to extinguish. The Alice stone, however, still glowed dangerously red, but it had stopped giving out excessive heat. Yuka heaved a sigh of relief, and concluded that she couldn't be anywhere near Natsume in case the Alice stone wanted to go back into him. Yuka just walked back to the room, but stayed outside where it was safer for her. Ever since then, Mikan visited Natsume every single day, and spent hours and hours with him. Those hours became days… Many, many days…

Days soon turned into weeks, and weeks soon turned into months. And months would gradually turn into years.

A year had passed since Natsume had been hospitalized, and he was still hospitalized even after a year. Mikan still visited him every single day after school, and on weekends, Natsume had the ever-so wonderful opportunity to savour the heavenly products of Sakura Mikan's cooking. It was _**so **_wonderful and heavenly that Natsume always felt nauseous after eating too much. Saturday came quickly, and Natsume was dreading the time when Mikan would bring him the food she cooked.

"Natsume-kun! Natsume-kun!" came the chirpy voice. Mikan opened the door, still smiling widely as ever. "Come on, Natsume-kun! I made your favourite – rice balls!"

"You say that every time, you idiot. And for your information, I do not like rice balls," the muffled voice of Natsume replied. The used-to-be fire caster was 'hiding' under the bed covers in order to 'escape' from Mikan's horrid cooking.

"Aww, why not? Here, have a rice ball! I spent hours making them!"

"Last time you came with those horrible rice balls, I threw up twice in a row."

"Mou, is my cooking _**that **_bad?"

"Yes it is, if you haven't realized, you idiot. Try a sample of your own cooking and you'll see what I mean."

"If you say so," Mikan popped a rice ball in her mouth, and chewed it. Soon after, her eyes widened, and she froze. Dropping her chopsticks, Mikan coughed out the chewed and mushy rice ball, and dashed out to find the toilet. Under the bed sheet covers, the raven-haired boy smirked smugly as retching sounds could be heard from the toilet Mikan ran into.

"I told her so."

Meanwhile, Ruka was on his way to the hospital to visit Natsume. Like Mikan herself, Ruka had been visiting his best friend every single day after school, but unlike Mikan, Ruka didn't bring any horribly cooked food for his best friend, knowing that Natsume was already suffering enough with Mikan's terrible cooking. Instead, Ruka always brought Natsume's favourite manga with him to let Natsume read his manga.

"Hey, Nogi…" a familiar emotionless voice murmured behind the animal boy.

Ruka turned around, and came face-to-face with the blackmailer. "Oh, it's you, Imai."

"Where are you going? What's the rush?"

"I'm going to the hospital to visit Natsume. How about you, Imai? Aren't you coming? You promised Sakura-san that you would visit Natsume _**at least once**_."

"It's true that I promised the big idiot that, but I won't go this time round. I'll go some other time when I'm free. Now, I have to go back to my lab. _Ja ne_," Hotaru muttered, waving good-bye to the animal lover.

"_M-matte, _Imai-san!"

"Hm? What is it now, Nogi?"

"C-can we, uh, talk somewhere? T-there's something r-r-really important I have to, uh, tell you…" Ruka looked away from the blackmailer, trying to hide his blush. Hotaru seemed indifferent about it.

"Talk?"

Mikan returned to Natsume's room with a nurse patting her back in order to comfort her. Natsume had appeared from under the bed covers with his hands behind his head. He noticed that his favourite idiot had returned from her vomiting session, and smirked once more. Mikan thanked the nurse by offering the latter her homemade rice balls, completely forgetting that she had vomited because of it. The nurse took one, and soon retreated to the toilet.

"Oi, baka, have you forgotten that anything you cook tastes bad?"

"Oh no, I forgot! I hope that nurse is okay!!"

"Tch, whatever, you idiot."

"Anyway, Natsume-kun, how are you feeling today?"

"Same as always, Polka-dots."

"_Sokka… Ja, _is there anything that you would like know? About the academy or something?"

Natsume frowned, and looked at his hands. He clenched them into fists, and mentally tried to use his Alice, but no fire could appear on his hands. For a genius like him, he had already noticed that he had lost his Alice, and had the feeling that Mikan knew something about it. But knowing the idiot well enough, Natsume knew that Mikan had something to do with the loss of his Alice. "Actually, there _**is **_something that I'd like to know about…" Natsume replied, sounding very serious.

Mikan, being the idiotic Mikan she was, had no idea that Natsume wanted to know what exactly happened to his Alice, so she stupidly answered back, "What is it? Anything, Natusme-kun."

"What happened to my Alice?"

"…" Mikan panicked, scanning her tiny brain for an excuse. "Uh… well… uh… You forgot how to use it!"

Natsume sweat dropped anime style. "No one forgets how to use his or her own Alice, you idiot. Tell me the truth; I know you're a terrible liar, so spit it."

"Well… uh, you see…"

"Just spit it already!"

"MymotherstoleyourAlicefromyoubecauseItoldhertoI'msosorryNatsumebutIhadtoIhadnochoiceotherwiseyouwilldie!!!!!!" Mikan stopped, and panted. She inhaled and exhaled, before noticing that Natsume was glaring at her. "Okay… Slowly this time… Um, well… My mother stole your Alice from you because I told her to. I'm so sorry, Natsume, but I had to. I had no choice, otherwise you will die!"

"… Die? Of what?"

"Um, excessive use of your Alice would lead you to your death, Natsume… In order to let you recover, I told my mother to steal your Alice and keep it with her until your body and mind will be ready to accept it back into you."

"Okay, for once, _**I'm lost**_"

"I'll start from the beginning…"

Night slowly crept into the premises of the Alice Academy. Ruka and Hotaru had finished their 'talk' while Mikan had finished explaining what happened to Natsume. Natsume took it pretty well, considering the fact that he was the casualty. Mikan still felt quite guilty about keeping such a big matter from Natsume, but she felt glad that Natsume took it quite well. Ruka was in his room, blushing like hell. Hotaru was blushing even more hellishly than Ruka himself. For an Ice Queen like her, it was a miracle to make her blush that badly.

'_T-that… idiotic Nogi…_' Hotaru thought, trying to get the memory out of her head, but subconsciously, she really loved that moment when she and Ruka had their little 'talk'.

**Flashback…**

"_I-Imai!"_

"_Hmn?"_

"_I… I… I…"_

"_Hm? Quit stammering, and tell me what you want to talk about, Nogi." Hotaru narrowed her purple eyes. "And why the heck are you blushing?"_

"_H-Hotaru!" Ruka gripped onto Hotaru's shoulders, blushing very heavily. Hotaru was quite surprised that Ruka had called her by her real name after such a long time she had been in the academy, but she tried to look unaffected. "Hotaru, I…"_

"_W-what is it, Nogi?"_

"_I… I really like you, Imai Hotaru! I really do! I… I've liked you… ever since the Last Dance a year or two ago, when we were ten!"_

_Hotaru was flabbergasted. She felt something sensational creep up on her cheeks. "W-what a-a-are you implying, R-Ruka?"_

"_I… I'm saying that I really like you… No, I mean, I love you! Please, Hotaru… c-can we be a couple?"_

**End of flashback…**

"That Ruka is such a big idiot in the head! I… I'll blast his head with my baka gun if I had had the courage to…." Hotaru muttered, still flabbergasted. "I guess… I like him too… When should I tell that animal-loving idiot my true feelings?"

"Why not right now?" a familiar voice spoke.

Hotaru looked up. She knew that voice very well. It was a voice she longed to hear every day, yet it was also the same voice which she didn't want to hear at the moment. She turned her attention to the window and covered her gaping mouth with her hand. "R-Ruka?"

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A/N: Whee… The suspense, humor and romance! Okay, people, just two more chapters to go and this story is completed! Ah… don't you miss the good ol' days when you update your first Gakuen Alice fic?

Next chapter: Ruka and Hotaru becomes a couple! Yay! Now all there's left is Mikan and Natsume. However, confessing to each other would have to wait! Natsume's Alice stone has been taken away by Persona and of course, Persona won't give it back unless Mikan and the others agree to a certain deal with him. Will Natsume get his Alice back before he really dies? Will Mikan ever get the chance to tell the latter that she loves him? Will the much-awaited downfall of Persona and the AAO finally arrive? Find out in the next chapter 'That's My Idiot!'!

Aritia: I want Persona and the AAO dead!

Shadow: I want them alive.

Aritia: What?! WHY?!

Shadow: Without them alive, there would never _**be **_a Gakuen Alice story. Sure, they can die in the end, but I want them alive in this certain story.

Aritia: Huh? Why?

Shadow: Should I let Umbreon-Rawks tell you about the se-

Me: Whooooooooooaaaaaaa! Alright, Shadow! You win! You can take over the world for all I care; just don't ever tell anyone about _**that**_!

Shadow: Oh goodie, now to gain my place as ruler of earth. (goes off somewhere to begin her reign)

Aritia: …? Uh, Umbreon-Rawks, what was Shadow gonna say? She said 'se-'and stopped.

Me: …

Aritia: Oh, I get it! You're going to create a SEQUEL!

Me: (slaps forehead) I can't believe someone as immature as her can figure it out so quickly…

Aritia: So you're really gonna make a sequel?! Yippeee!!! Let's party!!

Me: … Spare me.


	13. That's My Idiot!

Author's Note: I am almost done with this fic and then… new fic! If you've read my profile, at some point, I have said that I will be making a new fic. It's not the sequel to this fic, if you're wondering. The sequel to this fic shall come quite shortly while I am posting the new fic, so you'll have to keep an eye out. Yes, I am not lying; there _**will **_be a sequel to this fic, but it's a pretty short one. By the way, Shadow and Aritia are busy taking over the world and partying respectively, so I shall be alone for this chapter. At least I don't have to split them up again…

And if this chapter is short, please forgive me. I'm trying to rush through this chapter because I have to pack up for my holiday trip which is tomorrow. And I need more time with the final chapter, the sequel and my new fic so I _**have **_to finish this today. So… _Gomenasai… _And expect total OOCness…

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice. Other than OCs, of course, like Aisu and another OC in this chapter.

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Chapter 13 – That's My Idiot!

"R-Ruka?" Hotaru gasped, not believing her eyes. There he was, the animal boy; standing on Hotaru's windowsill with his eagle outside, sitting on a tree branch. Oh gosh... Hotaru couldn't believe it at all. How much had Ruka heard? Had he heard her confession? He most probably did, by the looks of things. Ruka, on the other hand, was smiling sweetly at the blackmailer, and he jumped off the windowsill and into Hotaru's three-star bedroom.

"Hey, Hotaru," Ruka greeted softly, but loud enough for Hotaru to hear.

"Um… R-Ruka? H-how much have you heard?" Hotaru muttered out, feeling rather shy and embarrassed.

"Practically… everything you said to yourself."

"O-oh… I see… So, does that mean that… you heard me… say that I, well… Um…"

"Yup." Hotaru looked up, staring surprisingly at the animal boy. And that was when Ruka noticed it; Hotaru was blushing like hell. Ruka mentally laughed to himself, and then told her, "You know, Hotaru? You look really cute when you blush."

That statement caused the Ice Queen to blush even more heavily than before. Hotaru still didn't say anything… until Ruka, of course, ran over and gave her a hug. "R-Ruka, what are you…?"

"Please, Hotaru, what more do you want?"

"H-huh? What are you talking about, Ruka?"

"I like you, and you like me back. Is there another reason why we can't become an item? Is it because we're too young, or what?"

"W-well, I…" Hotaru gave up and sighed. "Well, I suppose there _**is **_no reason after all, Ruka… I'm sorry I sort of hurt your feelings back then and I really want us to… you know, be a couple and…" Hotaru was immediately cut off by _**someone's **_lips against her own. She was shocked at first, but knowing that it was her special _**someone **_kissing her, she greatly accepted it in the end. That _**someone **_was obviously and definitely Nogi Ruka himself, and he was finally making his move. Soon, they broke off the kiss to take in some oxygen, and Hotaru, panting, said, "You know, Ruka… you're not such a bad kisser…"

"Well… neither are you. Save for the mechanical oil taste, that is."

"And how about you? You have animal breath."

"Did I forget to mention that I _**like **_the taste of _**your **_mechanical oil?"

Ruka should've sworn he never said that to Hotaru, for Hotaru obviously took it seriously, and she handed him a bottle of her own handmade mechanical oil. A sweat drop appeared on Ruka's head as Hotaru put on her professor hat and explained, "_Invention no. 040: Fermented Solution. The solvent of this solution is most definitely water, and the solutes varies depending on what flavor you are trying to achieve. For example, this mechanical oil is actually the Fermented Solution. The solvent is water, and the solute is mechanical oil. After some experimentation with the solution, the solvent will taste exactly like mechanical oil, but the risks of drinking mechanical oil would never exist. The trick is that water loses its taste to gain a new taste, and the solute(s) loses its poison. For example, when someone drinks pure mechanical oil, there is some danger to that, but if you drink this Fermented Solution that tastes like mechanical oil, the danger is as dangerous as drinking mineral water, which is equivalent to zero. Get your Fermented Solution today. Call 1800-EVIL-HOTARU-000 now. While stocks last._"

"Uh… Hotaru? Who are you talking to? And why the heck is the explanation so long?"

"Just shut up and drink my Fermented Solution. You said that you like the taste of _**my **_mechanical oil, right?"

"Uh…"

"And this is created by yours truly, so _**drink up or else I won't become your girlfriend.**_"

"Aaaah! Okay! Okay! I'll drink it!"

Hotaru mentally giggled to herself in victory. '_Looks like I've not only gained a new boyfriend, but also a new personal slave…_' she thought to herself evilly, and imagined herself ordering _**her **_Ruka around. '_Oh, the joy!_'

"Eh?! Really?!" Mikan exclaimed. It was already the next morning, and during breakfast time, Hotaru had revealed the truth to Mikan. "_Sugoi ne, _Hotaru-sama! When are you getting married?"

**Baka! Baka! Baka!**

"Baka… No one gets married at the age of eleven."

"_Itai… _Hotaru-chan… That really hurt…"

"Serves you right, baka."

Over at the hospital, Natsume was reading his manga when Ruka had informed him about the news. Natsume looked up from his manga, staring Ruka with a stunned look on his face. "Ah, so you and Imai are a couple now?"

Ruka blushed, and nodded.

"Well, as your best friend, I can't help but feel sorry for you."

"H-huh? Why?"

"Because that Imai is _**bound **_to order you around like her very own personal slave. She'd treat you as her money-making machine rather than a boyfriend. Would you be happy with that blackmailing, evil female demon?"

"Natsume, you know me by now. I… I like Hotaru… So, I… I don't mind at all… You know that well, don't you?"

"Tch. Yeah, yeah, I do."

Even though Natsume had said it to make it sound pretty hurtful, Ruka smiled at his best friend instead of showing signs of hurt, because that was what Natsume really was like. And it was also because of their evident differences that made them who they were: best friends. Just like Mikan and Hotaru.

"N-Natsume!" Yuka shouted, barging in Natsume's room.

"Oi, what is it, you lowdown Alice stealer? Can't you even knock?"

"Well, sor-ry, but there is something grave I have to tell you."

"W-what is it?" Ruka enquired.

"Natsume's Alice stone is… gone!"

"_N-nani?!_"

All of Class B and the teachers at the faculty room had been called to the Natsume's ward in order to discuss about the sudden disappearance of Natsume's Alice stone. Ruka and Hotaru, being a couple and all, were seen sitting next to each other with Ruka holding onto Hotaru's hand. Mikan, on the other hand, secretly liked Natsume (wink wink) so she went over to Natsume's side instead. Yuka began explaining, "Actually, I have no idea how it disappeared. I've always kept it in my pocket, and the burn marks on my pocket are proof. I even checked my pocket five minutes ago to make sure that it was there. When I had passed by Natsume's ward, I checked my pocket again, and it was gone! All that was left is a hole in my pocket caused by the fire of the Alice stone!"

"Could it be the work of someone who had the Invisible Alice? You know, the Alice that makes the user invisible?" suggested Yuu.

"No, it isn't possible. There's no way someone could've gotten the Alice stone out of my pocket within five minutes when I was walking briskly. It'd take a whole lot of skill in order to achieve that. And we must also consider the reason _**why **_that person wanted to get Natsume's Alice stone. And trust me; _**none **_of the AAO members has the Invisible Alice."

"… _Demo…_ I've heard of someone who has that Alice right here on campus…" Narumi stated, folding his arms. "And I wouldn't be surprised if that person was manipulated to steal Natsume's Alice. But like what you said, Yuka, it'd take a whole lot of skill to achieve that. And coincidentally, I've heard of someone who has that Alice is also learning in Natsume-kun's class, the Dangerous Abilities."

"Natsume, have you heard about this person?" Jinno asked.

"Well, now that you mention it… There's this bothersome boy who loves turning invisible and annoying me like poking me during class… He's also another reason why I hate the Dangerous Abilities class, other than the fact that I've never liked that class in the first place," explained the former fire caster as he folded his arms. "I think that annoying boy is called Nomega."

"We'll interrogate him ASAP, Natsume-kun! And then, we'll get your Alice back! I promise!" Mikan declared. "Without your Alice, Natsume-kun, I'm afraid that you'll… you'll…"

"Die like the other patients who had the same condition as I have?"

"A-ah… I'm scared of that…"

"Oi, _Ichigo Kara, _there's no need to get so worked up over my life. And besides, since when did you learn how to pick up a big word like 'interrogate'? Doesn't your brain hurt from learning big words all of a sudden?"

"What did you say?! Are you implying that I'm stupid?!"

"Yes, Mikan. Everyone knows that you're an idiot," Hotaru simply stated.

"Hotaru, you meanie…"

After Mikan's big scene at the hospital, everyone split up to go and look for Nomega. After a few moments, he was finally found snooping around a corridor, and taken to the faculty room. Jinno began the interrogation by saying, "Zero Nomega, you are suspected of using your Alice to steal Hyuuga Natsume's Fire Alice stone. How do you plead?"

"I don't care. So what if I'm guilty of this so-called crime? And Jinno, you are acting like a lawyer of some sort. Get over it, will ya?" retorted Nomega.

"So you _**did **_steal the Alice stone!"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Did you steal it for your own selfish gains? Or did someone else put you to it?"

"Well, I was given this order from Persona…"

"Persona?!" Mikan screeched. "Oh, that lousy, no-good, evil teacher! When I see him, I'm going to completely nullify his Alice!"

"Wow, who knew that the idiot had a heroic side?" Hotaru muttered to her boyfriend.

Ruka nudged her and replied, "Ne, Hotaru-chan, I don't think you should say this about your best friend. I mean… she's your best friend."

"Who's giving orders around here? Me or you, Ruka?" Hotaru threatened, pulling out her baka gun. Ruka sweat dropped.

"Well, uh… of course it's you, my sweet blackmailer!"

**KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!**

The door opened anyway, without having the need of allowing permission from any of the teachers in the faculty room. Persona walked in proudly, smiling evilly as always. In his hand was a plastic bag, and Mikan saw what was in it clearly. It was a red stone, glowing dangerously red. It was burning some parts of the plastic, but as plastic wasn't a good conductor of heat, some parts of the plastic merely melted and the melted plastic covered the Alice stone in, well, melted plastic.

"Persona?! What are _**you **_doing here?! And give us back Natsume's Alice stone!" Mikan shouted to the Dangerous Abilities teacher. Persona, however, merely chuckled.

"Why, why, the Neko precious to my favourite Kuro Neko has a heroic side, hmm? And it seems to me that she has some feelings towards him," Persona stated, completely ignoring Mikan's request.

"Just shut up and give us back Natsume's Alice stone!" It was Ruka's time to exclaim.

"Oh, you want it so badly? Fine, take it, but _**only **_if you agree to a certain deal I have to offer."

"There's always a catch, isn't there, you weird male teacher who puts on lipstick and nail polish?" Hotaru emotionlessly replied with a small joke at the end.

"S-shut up, you insolent brat! So what if I put on lipstick and nail polish?!"

"Hey, is my vision blurred, or is Persona blushing?" Narumi jokingly added.

"Damn you, Narumi!!" Persona slowly calmed himself down and went back to the subject, "And yes, you insolent little brat. There's always a catch. The deal is, I give you back the Alice stone which will eventually retreat back into Natsume's body. _**But**_ when that happens, he will be well enough to go on missions again. And thus, the deal is that if I give you back his Alice stone, you'll have to let him go on missions for me whenever I please."

"_Iya! _I won't allow it! Either way, Natsume-kun has to die!" Mikan cried.

"Oh, that's a good point. You know, I never realized it. Well, looks like Natsume will die after all. He's fated to die, isn't he?"

"No, I'd say _**you'll **_be the one fated to die!" Ruka exclaimed, and whistled. After a while, all of the farm animals charged into the faculty room, and Ruka ordered, "Animals, attack! And get the stone from the man clad in gothic black, girly lipstick and nail polish!"

"Oh, I repeat, so what if I put on lipstick and nail polish?!" Persona scowled. The animals began charging towards him, looking ready to stomp him flat. However, Persona recovered from his embarrassment and stopped them by scaring them with his Alice. He touched a random potted plant and it soon dissolved into nothing. "There's more, you know. If you dare attack me, I'll just dissolve all of you into nothing at all."

"Oh yeah? Then how about me?" Mikan shouted, looking very confident. "I have the Nullifying Alice, so even if you use your Alice on me, it won't have any effect!"

"Wow, the idiot's using her brain for once," Hotaru muttered under her breath.

"Now, I'm going to take Natsume's Alice stone back!" Mikan ran towards Persona with a burst of energy, looking very confident in getting back Natsume's Alice stone. However, Persona seemed indifferent. He took out a gun and aimed it at Mikan.

"One more move, and you'll be dead as well."

"…"

"Don't forget, this thing's loaded." Persona pulled the trigger and… POP! Nothing came out… except for a tiny slip of paper that showed the words: You've been tricked, you baka! "W-what the hell…?"

"Looks like… pant… you've fallen… pant… for my trick, haven't you?" breathed a certain former fire caster, as he appeared from behind the door and fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

"Natsume!" Mikan yelled out concernedly. "What are you doing here?!"

"I… pant… managed to escape the doctor… pant… and got here… pant… as soon as I could…"

"Natsume, you're going to kill yourself if you do that!"

"And he will since he has pulled such an embarrassing trick on me!" Persona growled, tossing the toy gun aside. "For that, he will pay dearly! You can say _sayounara _to the Alice stone, because I shall dissolve it into nothing right here, right now!" Persona threatened, raising the melting plastic bag in his hand, and used his Alice on it. Slowly but truly, the plastic bag was beginning to dissolve.

"No! No! Don't do it!" Mikan screamed, running towards Persona.

"O-oi, baka Mikan!" shouted Natsume, lying on the ground.

"Mikan-chan!" the others shouted.

"I won't let you dissolve Natsume's Alice stone, you baka teacher!!!" Mikan jumped, and fell on top of Persona, putting her Nullification Alice at work. The nullification worked perfectly and stupendously; the bag stopped dissolving. In fact, the dissolving plastic hasn't even reached the Alice stone. It was completely intact. "Uh… Did it work?"

"Yeah, it did… pant…" Natsume crawled towards the fallen Persona, Mikan and his Alice stone. He panted heavily and stopped crawling when his hand finally got a grip on Mikan's. "That's my idiot, all right. The idiot who would… pant… stop at nothing… pant… to fulfill her wish. Pant…"

"N-Natsume…"

"Pant… Don't worry, Mikan… pant… I won't die just yet. Pant…"

"I-I really hope so, Natsume…"

"Well, pant… you _**are **_an idiot… Pant… _**My **_idiot… pant…" And with that, Natsume blacked out, loosening his grip on Mikan's hand.

"N-Natsume?! _Daijoubu?!_ Natsume?!"

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A/N: Well? How is it? Give your comments, please! Oh, and about Nomega's name… Well, if you think about it in a Japanese way, Zero Nomega, the direct translation is 'no eyes', which would relate to Nomega's Alice. You know about the deal with invisibility; it's like as if you have no eyes and you can't see the invisible, right?　ぜろ　のめが

Final chapter: Natsume regains his Alice and escapes death. Both he and Mikan confess their feelings to each other and become a couple. Another year passes by, and Ruka and Hotaru are still dating each other, while Natsume gets a chance to… What?! Go home?! T-then… He'll have to leave Mikan behind?! And Ruka can leave the Academy too?! What'll happen to their girlfriends?! Find out what happens in the final chapter to WDCK! Entitled 'The Golden Opportunity'!

_Iya: No way! __いやいや_


	14. The Golden Opportunity

Author's Note: At last, the final chapter to **When Death Comes Knocking **is here. Aren't you glad that you people get to read the ending of this story? It seems pretty short, doesn't it? Including the sequel, I mean, hey. 14 chapters, and already complete. I'm pretty sure that there are other better stories out there that are longer, don't you think? Anyway, I'm very happy and proud of how this story turned out in the end! It's my best story so far! Out of my (current) 11 fics, this fic has the best stats out of all of the rest, including reviews. I am so proud I can cry. (sniff sniff)

Shadow: Get over it, Umbreon-Rawks.

Me: Oh, Shadow. Back so soon?

Shadow: Yeah, I need to knock Aritia out so that I can safely assure my victory in world conquest.

Me: _Sokka. Ja, _I shall carry on.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice other than OCs, and my made-up Hotaru inventions. Oh yeah, and expect total OOCness, especially for Natsume.

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Chapter 14 – The Golden Opportunity

The sun bid farewell for the day, and soon the moon appeared, greeting everyone who was awake. It was around eight at night, and Mikan still refused to eat anything. In fact, she had been denying food since lunch, which was right after Natsume fainted and brought back to the hospital. Persona had been taken to see the Academy's higher-ups, and was eventually fired for mistreating Natsume, Mikan, Ruka, Hotaru and the other teachers of the faculty. Mikan sure was glad that the Persona and AAO nightmares were finally over, but then she had another nightmare: Natsume's life and death.

Would Natsume live? Would Natsume die? Would Natsume get his Alice back? These questions, and many others of the same topic, ran through Mikan's brain. She just couldn't get Natsume off her mind, and because of that, she hadn't even realized that she had skipped lunch and dinner. Hotaru and Ruka came every once in a while to check on her, but that was all the help they could offer, other than persuading her to eat something. Even Jinno was worried about her, and of course, the others were a bit surprised to hear from Jinno that he was worried.

"I'm getting worried for Sakura Mikan," was what that cold-blooded teacher told his colleagues. And their jaws fell to the ground, anime style. It was a hilarious sight, even for Hotaru.

Anyway, Mikan was lying down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She thought about Natsume, and her own feelings towards Natsume. Was she truly in love with that perverted raven-haired Dangerous Ability? Sure, he was one heck of a pervert (to her) and a very short-tempered one at that, but that was probably one of the most charming things Mikan liked about, even though she hated it when Natsume called her names. Just thinking about Natsume got Mikan remembering about the times they had together: Meeting Natsume for the very first time, watching Natsume sleep like an angel (at least, to her), playing dodgeball, Natsume getting kidnapped, rescuing Natsume from Reo, getting stuck with Natsume as a slave during the school festival, getting stuck in a dark room with Natsume, calling Natsume cute, wanting to dance with Natsume…

Just thinking about those precious memories made Mikan blush like hell, even more hellishly than that of Hotaru and Ruka's blushes all together. And those precious memories would also always be treasured by Mikan, for there was a chance that Natsume could die. And that was when… _**it **_started.

_**It **_was the confession of love that was about to take place, right there, right then, at the Alice Academy…

… hospital.

"Oi, Polka-dots…" Natsume muttered.

"Hmm? What is it, Natsume-kun?" Mikan asked. She had gone to visit Natsume that very night, just to ease herself, and making sure that Natsume was alright. He was definitely alright, for he was already awake when she went over to visit him. And his attitude was definitely back.

"I… I got something very important to tell you…"

"Yeah, what?"

"Well, the thing is…"

"… Go on?"

"I, um… I-I w-wanted to, uh, t-tell you…"

"Whoa! Hold your horses! Am I hearing correctly? You're actually stammering?!" And it was there and then when Mikan's pigtails got caught on fire.

"Just shut up and listen to me, you idiot!"

"OK! OK! No need to set my hair on fire!" Mikan anxiously looked around, and spotted a fire extinguisher. She removed it and sprayed the fire extinguisher on her hair, extinguishing the fire.

"I did that so that you would shut up, baka!"

"Mou! You're acting like that again!"

"What do you mean by that, you baka?"

"You see! You don't even notice it! First, you act all high and mighty! Then next, you begin to make fun of me! And then, after that, you start being all nice to me! And then, you go back begin high and mighty again! And the whole thing repeats itself! Just like today! You acted all high and mighty when you said not to worry about you, saying that you'll be fine! What did you mean by that then?! That you're strong enough to live through this?! And after that, you made fun of me AGAIN! And then, after that, you became so nice to me and tried to save me from Persona! And now?! You're being bad to me! What do you want to be now?! High and mighty? Making fun of me? Being nice to me? What?!"

"…"

"_S-Soshite…_ That's one reason why……… That's one reason why I like you so much, Natsume-kun…"

"W-What?" Natsume couldn't believe what he had just heard, and Mikan couldn't believe what she had just told him. She didn't reply, and Natsume asked one more time, "What?"

"I…" Mikan paused. She thought about confessing her feelings. There would be two possible outcomes for her: One being Natsume's girlfriend, and the other being Natsume's enemy. For the first outcome, it might just turn out that Natsume liked her back and they become a couple like Hotaru and Ruka. For the second outcome, Natsume might not like her back and begin to hate her for liking him. Then he would tease her every single day of her life. Mikan surely didn't want that to happen, but since she had already accidentally blurted it out to Natsume, she figured that she might as well tell him the truth. "I… I like you, Natsume… I really really do…"

"Like… Like as in, like me as a friend? Or like me as in, 'like like'?"

"I… I 'like like' you, Natsume… I really do…"

"Is that what you… wanted to tell me?"

"Y-Yes, it is… And I know you'll just tease me and make fun of me again for liking you, so if you don't ever want to see me again, then I-I'll just leave now…" And as Mikan got up to leave, a firm grip on her arm stopped her from getting to the door. It was Natsume who stopped her.

"The truth is… That's how I feel about you too, Mikan…"

Mikan spun around and looked at Natsume. She couldn't believe her ears. "A-Am I deaf? O-or is there something in my ear? Can you say that again, Natsume?"

"Mikan, I… I like you, as in 'like like'… Really…"

Mikan blinked, and Natsume stared. Neither knew what to say to each other.

**One year later…**

"NATSUME-KUUUUNNNN!!!!!"

"O-OI, BAKA MIKAN!!!"

Before anyone else could say 'is that Natsume and Mikan?!' Mikan had fallen on top of Natsume, and Natsume was groaning in pain. That one year lacking in missions and full of medicinal drugs had made Natsume lose his strength he had when he was in the Academy years ago. Mikan's skirt almost lifted, and she didn't pull it down as she was too busy hugging her boyfriend.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. _**Her boyfriend. **_Natsume and Mikan became a couple.

"Oof! Get off me, baka Mikan! You're too fat and heavy!"

"Oh! _Gomenasai, _Natsume-kun!" Mikan stood up and dusted herself. When Natsume got back on his feet, Mikan did another attempt to hug him, and he almost stumbled backwards and fell on his back.

"Ouch, how much high-fat products have you been taking recently, Mikan? You're getting heavier and heavier with every single day!"

That's right, people. Natsume was calling Mikan by her real name ever since they became a couple.

"I don't take any high-fat products! I just don't exercise!"

"For an entire YEAR?!"

"Mm-hm!"

"What exactly have you been BUSY with?!"

"Going out on dates with you! What else?"

"B-but our dates don't even take up an entire year worth of time!"

As Natsume and Mikan continued with their childish protests, another cute couple was having their own cute childish arguments. Who else could it be other than our favourite blackmailer and animal boy?

"Ruka, what were you doing with that Shouda Sumire?"

"I didn't do anything with her?"

"Oh really?" Hotaru asked, not believing her boyfriend. She took out her baka cannon. "This thing's loaded, Ruka. You'd better tell me the truth or else you shall face the wrath of my baka cannon."

"R-really, Hotaru-chan! I didn't do anything with Sumire! She just offered to give me her tickets to a movie since she didn't have a boyfriend to go with!"

"And where did she get the tickets?"

"S-she said that she won them in a lucky draw held at Central Town not too long ago. I accepted those tickets so that I can go the movie with you, Hotaru-chan."

"You think I'd actually buy that, Ruka-kun?"

"It's true, Hotaru-chan! Here are the tickets!" Ruka fished out the tickets from his pocket, and Hotaru snatched them. She scanned them thoroughly by looking at every single printed letter.

"Well, I suppose it's true then. Ok, I'll go with you to the movie, provided that you promise me not to go around womanizing again."

"I didn't womanize!" Ruka protested.

"Whatever. Now, entertain me, Ruka-kun. Massage my shoulders, massage my feet, and polish my shoes. Oh, and don't forget to make dinner tonight."

Ruka sweat dropped, anime style. "You're acting like as if we're a married master and slave…" Ruka muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Ruka-chan?"

"E-eh? Chan?" (A/N: Note that in Japan, _kun _refers to boys, and _chan _refers to girls. _San _applies to any gender. _Sama _is for someone you highly respect.)

Hotaru didn't reply. She just showed her boyfriend slash slave a few pictures she took of him wearing the snow white dress when he was ten, including a few pictures she took of him wearing a waitress dress, and a Cinderella-style servant dress. Hotaru smirked smugly as she watched the pure shock and embarrassment shown on Ruka's face.

"W-WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE?!!!!"

"Don't forget, you're my boyfriend AND my slave, so when I tell you to wear female slave clothes, I do that for a reason: taking pictures of you in secret."

"Argh! H-Hotaru-chan, please give them back!"

"Hmm, how about no?"

"Aw, PLEASE!!!"

Just then, Narumi over the PA system began to speak. It stopped the two cute couples from protesting and arguing childishly, at least. "Attention, can I have your attention please? I would like to see the following students in the faculty room: Hyuuga Natsume, Sakura Mikan, Imai Hotaru and Nogi Ruka. Could the following students please come and see me now? Thank you!"

**Later…**

**KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!**

"Come in," Narumi called out. The door opened, and it revealed Natsume, Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka. "Ah, yes, I believe you've heard my announcement?"

"Well, duh. You spoke so loudly I almost went deaf, and it wasn't any better with this loudmouth baka Mikan here with me," Natsume stated.

"Hey!" Mikan whined.

"_Shizukani shitekudasai, _you two! I didn't call you up here to argue! I called you up here because I have something very important to tell you. It concerns all of you here. Natsume-kun, you do remember that Persona had been fired a year ago, right?"

"Well, duh."

"And… you also remember that you were asked to come to this Academy because the higher-ups wanted to use you to complete their missions, right?" Natsume slowly nodded, and Narumi continued, "Well, that's the thing. You… You were admitted to this Academy just for that purpose and solely for that purpose alone, so… there's this rule of the Alice Academy… And that rule clearly states that once the student is no longer needed to go on missions anymore, and if that student had been admitted just for doing missions, then that student… doesn't need to stay in the Academy anymore."

"_N-nani_?" the four gasped in unison.

"Therefore, Natsume… According to the rules, you're free to go home."

"_D-demo, _why only now? Why not before?" Hotaru asked curiously.

"Because Natsume was hospitalized for that entire year. Remember, he only returned to the Academy last night, so the soonest I could inform him would be, well, now. And thus, Natsume, you can go back to your hometown. You can go back to the family that you miss so much."

"But then that would mean Natsume and I would have to be separated!" Mikan protested.

"Yes, that is true. And it can't be helped, Mikan-chan. Natsume-kun can't stay in the Academy even if he wanted to. Rules… are rules. I can't do anything to change them. I've tried talking to the higher-ups, but they insisted on letting Natsume go home based on the rules."

"Rules, rules, rules! It's all about rules! Why can't they think about our feelings for a change?!" Ruka exclaimed, not being able to bear the fact that he had to bid farewell to his best friend, and the fact that they wouldn't be able to see each other again for a very long time.

"Actually, Ruka-kun, I was about to get to you. The higher-ups also insisted on you going home with Natsume-kun as well."

"_N-nani?!_" the four shouted in unison.

"Like you said, the higher-ups should've thought about your close relationship with Natsume-kun. They've already argued over this matter, on whether or not they should let you go home with Natsume as well, seeing that you two are the best of friends and living in the same hometown, so… they've decided to let you go home as well, and the same rule applies to you, Ruka. Even if you want to stay in this Academy, you can't."

"That means I'll have to leave Hotaru-chan!!" Ruka cried.

"I already said that I've tried talking to the higher-ups about you two couples, but they, in turn, reprimanded me instead, saying that I shouldn't even allow love to blossom in the Academy, for according to the rules, the students aren't allowed to truly fall in love with each other in the Academy."

"Why not?! It's so unfair! Why can't they let us decide on our own future with the ones we truly care about?!" Mikan screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"Mikan-chan…" Narumi whispered, feeling sad for the foursome.

"I don't care! I'm marching all the way to go and see the higher-ups! And no one will stop me from doing that!"

"Are you nuts, Mikan? Who do you think you are? You can't make them fulfill our own desire; that's just plain selfish," Hotaru muttered to her best friend. "And besides, I have a plan, a plan that can get us all together without anyone needing to leave anyone else."

"R-really?"

"Yes. We'll talk in my lab. Right now."

**Hotaru's lab…**

"So, Imai, what kind of sneaky plan do you have up your sleeve?" Natsume asked, feeling rather curious about it.

"Okay, here's the gist: Hyuuga-kun, Ruka-kun, both of you get to go back to your hometown, right? And even if you want to, you can't stay in this Academy, right?" The boys in question nodded, and the blackmailer continued, "Well, I don't care if those idiotic higher-ups allow us or not, but Mikan and I will go with you."

The three became flabbergasted, and the emotion of shock was clearly shown on their faces, even Natsume. "What did you say?!"

"Mikan and I will return to your hometown with you two, and neither of you can do anything to stop me from fulfilling my greatest escape plan. For wherever Ruka goes, I will follow."

"Well, even though I've agreed that I'll stop chasing Hotaru around… (A/N: Refer to episode 26 of Gakuen Alice) but wherever Natsume _**and **_Hotaru go, I will follow!" Mikan declared.

"And wherever Mikan and Ruka go, I will go as well," Natsume replied.

"And wherever Natsume and Hotaru go, I will be with them as well," Ruka said.

"How about we all stop this talk about following and going with each other, and decide on being together forever?" Everyone stared at Natsume. "I don't mean that we fall in love with each other, you know. We're already respective couples."

"Anyway, listen up, every single one of you," Hotaru continued with her plan, "On the day Hyuuga and Ruka leave for their hometown, we'll sneak into the car boot."

"Car boot? For what?" Mikan asked.

"Baka. If they are going to leave, how will they get back home other than sitting in limousine home? Do you honestly believe that they go home on foot?"

"Well… no."

"Good. Anyway, back to the plan. Mikan and I will sneak into the car boot of the limousine that Hyuuga and Ruka are taking to get back home. And when they reach their hometown, Mikan and I will use my invention 041 to sneak back out of the car boot and wait for the limousine to go away. That would just leave us with Hyuuga and Ruka, so we'll finally be together, without having to complain to the higher-ups."

"What if you two girls get caught?" Ruka asked concernedly.

"We won't get caught, unless someone happens to know of my plan and tells security. If not, I'll use invention 041 to get Mikan and me to the car boot easily."

"What's invention 041, Imai?" Natsume asked.

"_Invention no. 041: Ghostly Bracelets. When you put these two bracelets on – one being cerulean and the other being sapphire – you'll be able to attain two abilities that only certain Alices or ghosts can have: Invisibility and intangibility. Two bracelets per person, because the cerulean bracelet gives you the power of invisibility and the sapphire bracelet gives you the power of intangibility. If you lose either one of the bracelets, you attain only one ghostly ability. Note: The reason why I can't put the two powers into one bracelet is because no matter how hard I try, one bracelet isn't strong enough to sustain both abilities._"

"… Were you talking to us or were you talking to the walls, Hotaru?" Mikan asked. "You were looking at the wall behind us, and not at us."

"Never mind me. Mikan, let's get the Ghostly Bracelets on now, in case Hyuuga and Ruka have to leave suddenly."

"O-okay…"

"And you two," Hotaru ordered, pointing at Natsume and Ruka. "Clarify with the teachers when you're leaving. And then pack your bags. This is the golden opportunity that can't be missed. Well? What are you two waiting for? Get going!"

"Since when is she the boss of me?" Natsume muttered under his breath as he proceeded to walk out of the door with Ruka. Unbeknownst to the foursome, Narumi, Jinno, Misaki and Serina sensei were listening in, and watched the entire scene with Serina's crystal ball and her Alice of Sight. Narumi sighed, Jinno folded his arms, Misaki groaned, and Serina looked worried. The teachers had all agreed on one thing, and that was to let the foursome do whatever they wanted. They mumbled to themselves one last sentence:

"I wish you the best of luck, you four. Don't miss this golden opportunity."

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A/N: And that is done! Done and complete! Finished! Whew! I swear, this chapter – no, this story – must've sucked at least half of my life force writing it! And I don't mean it literally. It's just a cute quote I heard from **Tsukiria**-chan at school the other day. Anyway, the reason why I can't continue on with this fic with this new plot idea is, well, because the plot of this story is for Natsume to escape death in the end and be with Mikan, that's all. And the reason for a sequel is because of the new plot that has unfolded!

Preview to the next chapter of the sequel: Our favourite four heroes/heroines are getting ready for the day Mikan and Hotaru escape to their boyfriends' hometown. The teachers of the faculty room are doing the best they can to prevent anyone from discovering their plan. Will Mikan and Hotaru make a successful attempt? Will Natsume and Ruka finally go back home? Why am I saying this, you ask? Well… because Mikan and Hotaru sneak into the wrong limousine! And Natsume and Ruka's limousine gets stranded in the middle of nowhere! What will happen to our favourite foursome now?!

_Soshite: And then__　そして_

_Shizukani shitekudasai: Please keep quiet__　しずかに　してください_

_ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU TO THE FOLLOWING REVIEWERS!!!_

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_Legend: _

_Italics: anonymous_

_**Bold and italics: signed**_

_ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU NE! PLEASE READ THE SEQUEL! JA NE!_

Until next time… See ya! Oh, and before I forget… Treat your Umbreons with care! … Or else!

Umbreon-Rawks


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